For whatever can be gleaned from such things as summer workouts, training camp and the preseason, the early reviews have been positive for the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers rookie class.
Now, if they can only get them all healthy and onto the field.
Among the seven draft picks and one prominent undrafted free agent who could contribute in 2024, half did not play in Sunday’s season-opening win in Atlanta. But those who did play extensively against the Falcons, by all indications, passed their first tests as pros.
“It’s really neat being able to watch the guys from my class be out there on the field for the fist time and playing and playing well,” rookie defensive lineman Logan Lee said. “Each of them — Payton and Zach and Beanie — all played well. So it was fun to watch.”
Lee joined safety Ryan Watts, a fellow sixth-round pick, on injured reserve to open the season, and third-round wide receiver Logan Wilson was inactive because of an ankle injury. Additionally, first-round offensive tackle Troy Fautanu was in uniform but did not play because he had spent the previous three weeks recovering from a knee injury.
That left four rookies to play for the Steelers in the season opener. Fourth-round guard Mason McCormick dressed as a backup. He projects as a future starter, but for his NFL debut, McCormick was limited to one special-teams snap.
The other three played significant roles in the 18-10 victory:
• Second-round pick Zach Frazier played every snap as the Steelers’ center.
• The second of two third-rounders, Payton Wilson, trailed only prized newcomer Patrick Queen among snaps played by Steelers inside linebackers.
• Undrafted Beanie Bishop was the “starting” nickel back.
Though Bishop was not credited with an official start because the Steelers did not use a slot DB for the first defensive snap of the game, he played 59% of the Steelers’ 56 defensive plays. He finished with three tackles, and, according to Pro Football Focus, allowed four catches (on four targets) in 27 snaps during which he was in coverage.
“It was fine,” Bishop said in evaluating his debut. “Just being in constant communication with both safeties and all the starters on secondary made the game a lot slower for me.”
Bishop credited the veteran savvy of Minkah Fitzpatrick, DeShon Elliott and Donte Jackson for helping foster a smooth NFL debut.
“When I got out there, I was just telling these guys, ‘Make sure we are communicating,’ ” Bishop said. “For me, having that and not having a lot of stuff I have to think about, just being in the moment, I can just look at the formation and I’m able to play fast.”
Bishop noted how “very special” it was to have a shared experience with college teammate Frazier, another former West Virginia player who received plaudits after getting thrust into a major role in his first NFL game.
Frazier ranked eighth in PFF grades among the 30 starting Week 1 centers through Sunday, including third best at pass blocking. Per PFF, Frazier did not allow a pressure of quarterback Justin Fields.
Frazier’s career, though, almost started disastrously. The first Steelers snap of the game was a botched exchange with Fields.
“It’s everything you dream about as a kid to go out there for the first snap,” Frazier said. “Then the first snap, we fumbled. So we’ve got to get that cleaned up.”
By all indications, Frazier played a clean game after that.
“I think I’m pretty good about forgetting about plays,” he said, “and moving on.”
Perhaps Frazier would have avoided that first bad snap if he had gotten that “first-play nervousness” out of the way. Bishop and Wilson were out for the opening kickoff.
Bishop made the Steelers’ first tackle of the season. And, a few minutes later, Wilson made what was arguably the first impactful tackle of the season. He dropped Falcons running back Bijan Robinson in the open field inside the Steelers’ 10-yard line on a third down to prevent a touchdown during the game’s first possession.
“It’s nice to start the first game on kickoff and get those jitters out,” Wilson said. “But at the end of the day, ball is ball. Once I got out there and got running around, it was just like a normal ballgame.”
Not unlike how it was for fellow rookies Frazier and Bishop.
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets.