LATROBE - Thursday’s Steelers practice brought plenty of edge, both in the drill work and in the confrontations. Ben Skowronek mixed it up with linebackers Payton Wilson and Patrick Queen, and later Lew Nichols and D’Shawn Jamison had to be separated after a scuffle on the ground. With Day Seven in the books, here’s a look at which players helped their case and which ones had a tougher go.
Aaron Rodgers looked like he was playing a different game from everyone else. The veteran quarterback was especially sharp working the middle of the field, dropping layered throws over defenders and repeatedly finding DK Metcalf and Roman Wilson throughout the session. Rodgers was clearly feeling it, and the signature fist pumps started showing up after some of those completions.
Jack Sawyer turned in his best practice yet. He had not flashed much before Thursday, but he was active against the run and showed a real knack for getting into the backfield.
The clearest moment came on a play that would have been a sack in game action, when he came flying off the edge and had Mason Rudolph in trouble. Sawyer looks like a player who could keep climbing as he gets more chances.
Derrick Harmon was another defensive lineman who made life miserable for the offense. Pittsburgh’s run defense was noticeably better when Harmon was healthy last season, and that showed again Thursday.
Whether the offense tried to run inside or outside, Harmon seemed to be the first man there, making contact and disrupting plays before they could get going. He has the look of a serious run defender with a chance to become a household name this season.
On the other side of the ledger, Drew Allar had a rough one. The Steelers’ third-round quarterback was off on short throws and struggled with timing over the middle.
He led the only two-minute drill at the end of practice, but his lone completion was wiped out by offensive pass interference. That said, the day was not all on him.
Kaden Wetjen also had two catches hit him in the hands that he could not haul in. Allar remains exactly what the Steelers expected: a work in progress with the ability to make outrageous plays, but still in need of major refinement on the basics and mechanics.
Jaquan Brisker also landed on the wrong side of the report, though not because of a lack of activity. This was the third straight practice where he got his hands on what should have been an interception and couldn’t finish the play.
Rodgers tried a cross-body post to Roman Wilson that was thrown well short, and Brisker was right there for the takeaway before the ball slipped away. It’s not a reason for alarm, especially since he keeps finding himself in the right spot.
But it is another missed chance, and one that stands out in a camp where he has been around the ball plenty.
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