Anthony Chickillo having fun and playing hard while turning heads at Steelers training camp

Some might suggest being a rookie who was drafted in the 6th round of the 2015 NFL Draft would have a lot of pressure on them. However, the flip side to this argument is the fact some rookies can play with an unbridled ability to leave everything out on the field. After all, being drafted in the 6th round you have nothing to lose, but everything to gain (just ask Antonio Brown).

As for Anthony Chickillo, a 6th round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, he is simply enjoying the ride as he continues to gain attention from coaches and fans alike while at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.

"It's going good," Chickillo told Chris Bradford of the Beaver County Times. "I'm enjoying it, having fun playing. I just want to keep getting better."

Getting better is something Chickillo has been doing since before training camp started as he trimmed nearly 30 pounds off his frame to make himself more athletic, faster and quicker to move to a traditional outside linebacker position.

"I feel more comfortable playing at this weight," he said. "I just feel faster, feel quicker."

The changes he made have been paying off as Chickillo continues to be the 'camp darling' for Steelers media and fans who attend practices on a daily basis. Whether it is Chickillo's ability in the traditional 'backs on 'backers drill, or his run-stuffing tendencies in 11-on-11 play, whatever Chickillo seemingly does is working.

How is it working? If you follow the Steelers and head coach Mike Tomlin, the head coach very rarely delivers praise to rookies, opting to make them earn praise on the playing field over lip service in the newspapers. When Tomlin was asked recently about Chickillo's body of work to date, his response spoke volumes about how well Chickillo is playing. "Good work." Tomlin uttered. Those two words cannot be understated in terms of how the coach views his young linebacker.

What does Chickillo attribute to his success with the team so far? Good old fashioned work ethic.

"I try to play hard," Chickillo said Friday. "Hard as I can."

Chickillo certainly has a daunting task ahead of him, that task being a spot on the team's final 53-man roster. After all, he is attempting to crack the lineup which already has Arthur Moats, Bud Dupree, Jarvis Jones and James Harrison entrenched in roles on the defense. Basic math states the team will likely keep one, maybe two, more outside linebackers on their roster.

The best chance for Chickillo is to not just improve his play within the standard 3-4 scheme the team deploys, but to dominate in special teams play. If Chickillo is capable of keeping up his current pace of transitioning to the outside linebacker position, and can become a demon on special teams, the team will have no choice but to have No. 40 suiting up on Sundays in 2015.