LATROBE- There were plenty of reactions from people when it was reported that the Pittsburgh Steelers would not be having live tackling in camp this year. However, when the pads went on for the first time this season in Latrobe today, you could hear plenty of popping and the defense showing their physicality. Let’s take a look at who did well and who didn’t in the Steelers’ fifth training camp practice, in stock-up and stock-down style.
Stock Up:
S Jaquan Brisker
No defender benefited from having pads on and being able to be more physical today than Jaquan Brisker. Brisker had a huge pass breakup during the 11-0n-11 team period. Later in that same period, Brisker came screaming off the edge on a safety blitz and had Mason Rudolph dead to rights for what would have been a huge sack if they were allowed to tackle.
The Steelers are particularly thin at the free safety spot, so Brisker will have to shoulder the majority of those responsibilities early in the season. It was easily the best performance that Brisker has put together so far this camp.
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CB Doneiko Slaughter
If you are looking for a sleeper in the Steelers defensive back room, look no further than Doneiko Slaughter. With how well his fellow corner Asante Samuel Jr. has been playing, something that hasn’t been talked about enough is how well Slaughter has been playing this camp. Slaughter was around the ball a lot today and made several huge plays, including a pass breakup and intercepting a Will Howard downfield shot.
The 2025 undrafted free agent out of Arkansas is having a phenomenal start to camp and is standing out in what figures to be a loaded cornerback room. If he continues this kind of play into the preseason, the Steelers will have a big decision to make on how many corners to keep.
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QB Drew Allar
No quarterback has had more “wow” throws this camp than third-round pick Drew Allar, and today was no exception. Allar set his feet and threw a beauty of a deep ball to Cole Burgess in stride for a 50+ yard touchdown. Allar is still very much a work in progress, and Mike McCarthy has been working with Allar and Will Howard more than the other quarterbacks on the roster. However, it’s impossible to deny the impact plays we are seeing Allar make. For someone who isn’t expected to do much, if anything, this season, there have been plenty of reasons to get excited about Allar, and today was no exception.
Stock Down:
OT Troy Fautanu
It was a rough go for Fautanu today. The starting tackle had two false starts during 11-on-11 team periods that resulted in him ultimately getting pulled from the drill for a few plays. TJ Watt also seemed to be getting the best of Fautanu in blocking drills. All of this is no reason to sound the alarm or hit the panic button. Fautanu is one of the Steelers’ most talented and promising young players who just had a tough day.
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QB Will Howard
It was not a day to remember for Will Howard. He had his moments in team periods connecting with Brandon Smith several times but also had moments where his accuracy and timing seemed to be off. Howard was also granted the opportunity to lead the offense down the field on a two-minute drill to end practice. It was an opportunity for him to end practice on a high note, but the drive was ultimately unsuccessful as the defense dominated in both two-minute drills to end practice. It will more than likely come down to performance in the preseason for Will Howard as he continues to compete with veteran Mason Rudolph for the backup quarterback job.
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