Anthony Chickillo is keeping family tradition alive. Both his father and grandfather played in the NFL after successful college careers at Miami, and Chickillo is about to follow in their footsteps as a third-generation Miami player and an NFL player as the Steelers sixth-round compensatory pick.
Amid concerns about the state of the Steelers secondary and extreme enthusiasm for the receiving corps, players of other positions have not been the subject of extensive speculation and prognostication. Chickillo deserves some attention, though. A strong player, Chickillo also has lateral quickness, extreme tenacity and durability.
Some scouts have criticized him for not showing much improvement in technique or output from year-to-year on the Miami squad, and his scouting report on CBS.com indicated he needs to add more "tricks to his arsenal." Even without "tricks in his arsenal," Chickillo has shown he is able to put pressure on the quarterback. With the Steelers pass rush as weak as it has been, Chickillo will be a welcome addition to the squad.
Unfortunately, Chickillo has no experience dropping back into coverage. Linebackers coach Joey Porter will need to coach him up and see if there is unrealized potential for greater versatility.
Despite Chickillo's limitations, Joey Porter was enthusiastic, saying, "You can never have enough pass rushers in the way the game is being played now from the outside linebacker position... I'm happy we got him. We just made our outside linebacker tree a little deeper."
Check out Chickillo's high school senior highlight clips:
In his college clips, his energy and drive are readily apparent play after play. For those of us worried about the state of the pass rush, it is a relief that the Steelers have that deficiency on their radar.
So the question remains whether or not Chickillo will be able to not only learn how to drop into coverage, but whether he will be able to show enough to earn a roster spot come training camp. Potential aside, Chickillo has an uphill battle against several other outside linebackers trying to just earn a spot on the team's 53-man roster. Shawn Lemon, Howard Jones and Jordan Zumwalt will all be trying to prove their worth this preseason, and it will be up to Chickillo to hold them off, and to hold onto a roster spot at the same time.