Alex Highsmith looks to be in great shape for Year 2

The Pittsburgh Steelers will be reliant on a number of players to take a big step in year two. None of which will be receiving a bigger roll than Alex Highsmith, who himself appears to have put himself into fantastic shape for his sophomore season. When scrolling through some the Steelers photos from their first day at OTA’s it’s easy to get caught up in Ben Roethlisberger and Dwayne Haskins throwing the ball, or Najee Harris leading the running backs, but sneakily Alex Highsmith looks to have transformed his body over the break. Alex’s father Sam Highsmith shared the photo on his own twitter page.

Alex has definitely beefed up this offseason and no doubt is outweighing his 242 pound frame from a year ago. From the picture above you can tell not one of those pounds he added is bad weight either. The biggest knock on Highsmith’s game a year ago was his run stopping skills, and the best way to improve upon that portion of the game is making yourself stronger, which he clearly worked on. The Steelers will give Highsmith every opportunity to single-handedly pick up the load left behind from Bud Dupree, and based on the work Highsmith put in during the offseason he will grab that brass ring.

In limited playing time as the Steelers third outside linebacker, and five starts following Dupree tearing his ACL, Highsmith was able to put up 48 tackles, 2 sacks, and an interception. With experience in the system and more playing time on the horizon, expect Highsmith to be the Steelers’ defensive breakout star of the 2021 season.

One other notable offseason transformation Is that of converted safety Marcus Allen. Allen has clearly put on massive size this offseason and fully committed to his roll as a linebacker on the Steelers.

Steelers players have committed to readying themselves for the 2021 season. Clearly these guys have bought into the messages the coaches asked of them over the past couple months. May is the most exciting time of the year for all football fans, as every fan base has something to be excited about, and for the Steelers you can be excited about this team showing up in tip top shape.

But what do you think? Is Alex Highsmith due for a breakout 2021 season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.