Steelers training camps five biggest battles Benny Snell slated to shake up Pittsburghs backfield

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The on paper don't have many marquee position battles as they enter training camp. is back under center, and Pittsburgh's defense, one of the best in football last season, returns all but one of their 11 starters from a season ago. With Big Ben healthy, and given the strides their defense made after trading for safety , the Steelers are hoping to make a return trip to the playoffs after failing to make the postseason each of the previous two Kevin Porter Jr. Jersey seasons.That being said, there are several key position battles Steelers fans should keep an eye on over the next month. Here are five of Pittsburgh's biggest position battles entering camp, which include one battle that features one of the Steelers' 2020 draft picks.There are plenty of questions as it relates to the Steelers' offensive line, which earlier this season witne sed the retirement of longtime starting left guard . , the starting right tackle in 2019, will enter camp as the new starting left guard. Feiler will have to hold off veteran , a free agent signee who started on two of the past three Super Bowl champions' offensive lines in Philadelphia and Kansas City.The two players have had wildly different NFL stories. A former second-round pick out of Penn State, Wisniewski has been a starter since his rookie season. Conversely, Feiler, a former undrafted rookie from Bloomsburg University, made just one start during his first three seasons. He finally got his big break in 2018, receiving 10 starts for the Steelers while helping Pittsburgh set a franchise record for touchdowns in a season (53). "Feiler is one of the most underrated players that I think I've ever been around," left tackle said of Feiler just prior to his Marques Bolden Jersey breakout season. "His strength, his demeanor, his personality; he's just a very good person and a great teammate. He's obviously very quiet; he maybe doesn't talk as much as some of the other players. Neverthele s, he's an unbelievable athlete. He comes from a smaller school, so gets sort of overlooked in other ways. But make no mistake, he's probably the strongest guy on the offensive line. He's definitely the best quiet profe sional playing in the NFL."Feiler's position change has created another position battle at right tackle between and . Banner, in Pittsburgh during the 2019 season, appeared in a career-high 14 games last season, his third year with the Steelers. Okorafor, a third-round pick in the 2018 draft, has earned four starts over the past two seasons. He more than held his own in 2018, when he started against Denver's Pro Bowl pa s rusher, . Craig Wolfley, a former Steelers offensive lineman who is currently a member of the media, is giving the slight edge to Okorafor ... for now."Right now, Chuks has a slight edge in the competition," . "But hear me now, and believe me later, we're a long way from settling the Brad Daugherty Jersey i sue. Both guys have a great opportunity to represent themselves and show their capabilities. I, for one, am looking forward to watching this battle for the right tackle position." Pittsburgh's biggest free agent signing was the acquisition of tight end Eric Ebron, who inked a two-year deal with the Steelers in March. Ebron was selected to his first Pro Bowl in 2018 after setting career highs with 66 receptions for 750 yards and 13 touchdowns. Ankle injuries slowed Ebron considerably in 2019, however, as he caught just 31 pa ses for Thon Maker Jersey 375 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games. Throughout the offseason, that seem to indicate that he is again healthy and ready to hit the ground running in Pittsburgh.McDonald, who was acquired via a trade with the just before the start of the 2017 season, endured a slow start in Pittsburgh before finally getting settled in in 2018. That season, McDonald set career highs with 50 receptions for 610 yards and six touchdowns. His (that included a nasty stiff arm) helped lift the Steelers to their first victory of the season after an 0-1-1 start. Like Ebron, McDonald suffered a drop off in production in 2019. With Big Ben sidelined, McDonald struggled to develop a rapport with and , as he caught just 38 of 55 targets for 273 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games.While Ebron is the favorite to win this matchup, fans should still expect a sizable contribution from McDonald, as the Steelers are expected to employ more multiple tight end sets in 2020. Despite last year's drop in production, enters camp as the Steelers' No. 1 receiver. Pittsburgh's No. 2 receiver is currently second-year wideout , who is expected to have a breakout year in 2020 after leading the Steelers in touchdown receptions in 2019. James Washington, the team's leader in receiving yards in 2019, will have to hold off rookie Chase Claypool if he is going to be Pittsburgh's No. 3 wideout entering Week 1.After a very disappointing rookie campaign, Washington, a 2018 second-round pick out of Oklahoma State, began to show signs of potential near the end of the '18 season. And despite not having Roethlisberger for the majority of the '19 season, Washington continued to show signs of progre s, as he averaged 16.7 yards per catch (up from his rookie average of 13.6 yards) while catching 55% of his targets (compared to just 42.1% as a rookie).Claypool, a 6-foot-4, 238-pound receiver out of Notre Dame, comes to Pittsburgh after catching 13 touchdowns during his final season in South Bend. The Steelers are hoping that Claypool can develop into a good outside threat, which would allow Smith-Schuster to return to the slot, where he was much more productive during his Andre Drummond Jersey first two seasons. Whichever receiver gives the Steelers the best chance of making big plays on the outside will get the Week 1 start. Like McDonald, expect Washington to have a significant role within Pittsburgh's offense this season, regardle s of where he is on the depth chart.James Conner, following an injury-marred 2019 season, enters training camp as the Alfonzo McKinnie Jersey Steelers' No. 1 running back. But given his previous injury i sues, Pittsburgh general manager Kevin Colbert has added reinforcements to the Steelers' backfield. During the draft he selected Anthony McFarland, a speedy back out of Maryland who averaged 6.7 yards per carry during his time with the Terrapins. On Tuesday, the Steelers further added to their backfield Wendell Smallwood, who won a Super Bowl in a reserve role with the Philadelphia Eagles back in 2017.While McFarland and Smallwood will compete to make the 53-man roster, Benny Snell and Jaylen Samuels will compete to be Conner's primary backup. A 2018 fifth-round pick, Samuels came to Pittsburgh as North Carolina State's all-time career leader in receptions. Samuels, despite his lack of experience playing in a traditional offense, played well in a limited role as a rookie, averaging 4.6 yards per carry. In Week 15 of that season, Samuels' 142-yard rushing effort (his first 100-yard rushing performance at any level) helped propel Pittsburgh to a 17-10 win over the Patriots. He also caught three touchdowns that season while serving as a reliable safety valve for Roethlisberger. Samuels continued to produce as a receiver in 2019, as his 47 receptions marked the second-highest total on the team. He didn't have as Dante Exum Jersey much succe s running the ball, however, averaging just 2.7 yards per carry. His struggles on the ground opened the door for Snell, a 2019 fourth-round pick out of Kentucky. Snell, who left the Wildcats' program as the school's career rushing leader, had nearly identical numbers as Conner despite only receiving two starts. Snell made the most of those two starts, rushing for 98 yards and a score in a win over the Bengals before gaining 91 yards and a touchdown in the team's season finale against the Ravens. Snell's succe s on the ground last season should make him the front-runner to back up Conner when the 2020 season officially kicks off.
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