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Steelers vs. Giants: 5 players to watch in the preseason premier

The rookies are usually the ones worth an eye in preseason, and along with them there are a few non-rookie younger players worth your attention as the Steelers take on the Giants at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday.

By Neal Coolong
USA TODAY Sports

While it seems more appropriate to run something like "5 Players who are absolutely not injured" instead, maybe the two concepts are one in the same.

John Parker Wilson

It's crazy to suggest a quarterback brought in solely as a training camp body could beat out a guy the Steelers drafted in the fourth round, but there have been few, if any, positive words given to rookie Landry Jones to this point. Questions have arisen about his accuracy during camp, but Wilson has been, by all accounts, very solid. Expect Roethlisberger to play about the same amount of snaps as the number on his jersey (maybe less) with Bruce Gradkowski taking a few series. After that, Jones and Wilson will split the rest of the time.

Markus Wheaton

Pointing out the rookies here seems obvious and cliche, but it will be the first live action fans will have seen of all of them - and Wheaton is the most intriguing. Will his "late start" due to the archaic NCAA rule hinder his development? Is he the same polished, savvy receiver his Oregon State film suggests he is? He may not get a ton of snaps tonight either, but if nothing else he'll take a step or two toward answering some of those questions.

Reggie Dunn

The Captain of the Training Camp All-Stars, plain and simple, if Dunn doesn't return a kick, his slim chances of making this team are gone. If he does and he makes an impact, his legend grows even stronger. Not to suggest having a strong return man wouldn't help alleviate some pressure on the team, but facing veterans who have performed well in that role recently (Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders and LaRod Stephens-Howling), Dunn will basically have to be the story of the game to survive much longer.

John Malecki

The most polished of a group of late-and-undrafted young offensive linemen, Malecki seems to have the leg up on the back-up center job, as well as a depth-provider along the interior. With the amount of experience he has now, and the low-level of competition he's likely to go against with the third-stringers (if that's where he ends up, and he could go against the 2s as well), he should make a noticeable impact.

Adrian Robinson

Looking to defend his crown as Training Camp Darling, he set Steeler Nation on its head last season. The real anticipation was based around what Robinson might become in 2013, and this is the first opportunity to see the progress he's made. More reason to anticipate an improved pass rush makes this game exciting enough.

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