Steelers Film Room: Evaluating Devlin Hodges’ Week 1 preseason performance

I will not make any bones about it, I am a Devlin Hodges fan. I knew nothing about him until I did a player bio on him. A kid from Samford with the all-time FCS passing leader was intriguing, and I came away wanting to see more. Finally, the time came with the Pittsburgh Steelers first preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers midway through the third quarter. What a surprise as most Steelers fans probably thought the same as me he may get in sometime in the fourth quarter.

During the next quarter and a half, there was plenty to like but moments of confusion and even an ill-advised throw. If you were just to look at his eight of 14 passing for 79 yards and a touchdown, you might come away uninspired with his playing against guys deep on Tampa’s depth chart. Factor in the two to three drops and his stats look much more productive.

Overall, the rookie showed poise, pocket presence and an ability to go through his progressions while limiting his mistakes.

In the video montage, you will see replays of Hodges, his good, his bad and his mediocre.

While Hodges had a respectful performance when factoring in the drops, he also had a hand in those drops with touch or lack thereof. While Josh Dobbs struggled, he was also playing against players who will start for Tampa Bay on opening weekend. That is something that the players Hodges did not have to face. The players Hodges faced will either be finding a new line of work, on the practice squad or possibly buried deep on the depth chart playing on special teams.

There are two main questions the man with 14,584 collegiate passing yards and 111 career passing touchdowns must answer. Can he repeat his performance against players who may submit their resumes in a month? And can he perform at that high of a level against the competition that Dobbs faced last week and the competition that Mason Rudolph will face this week?

Hodges did not embarrass himself and threw his hat into the ring to make the 53--man roster, can he build on his success or just a flash in the pan?

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