3 players mentioned by Mike Tomlin following Saturday’s rookie minicamp

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin spoke briefly with the Pittsburgh media following Saturday’s rookie minicamp practice. Based on the questions, the “Players Mentioned” article is able to make another brief return! Remember these are players mentioned in response to specific questions during the Q&A period.

Kenny Pickett

The Pittsburgh Steelers used their first-round draft pick in 2022 on a quarterback for the first time in 18 years. With a lot of anticipation around Kenny Pickett during Steelers rookie minicamp, Coach Tomlin was asked if he’s learned anything about Pickett that he didn’t already know from being next door to him while he was at the University of Pittsburgh.

“Not particularly with him but obviously I got a heck of a lot more exposure to him. Particularly from a personal standpoint, the man, relative to some of his teammates.”

DeMarvin Lael

The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted a number of players whose height and weight may not be typical of other players at the position in the NFL. One of those selections was third-round draft pick defensive lineman DeMarvin Leal, who is listed at 290 pounds. Coach Tomlin was asked about Leal stating he had already begun to put on weight.

“He’s speculating if he thinks we want him to put on weight. We’re just here getting to know him and his body and how it works. Oftentimes in draft preparation, guys hear things from NFL people, and they try to do what they think we want. The reality is that we’re trying to get to know the athlete, the pedigree of the athlete and how his body works, what’s the optimal condition for him to be in, etc. And so, it would be much too premature to talk about desired weights and so forth with any of these guys, because we’re just getting to know them.”

Calvin Austin III

The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted two wide receivers in the 2022 NFL draft. Their second selected receiver, Calvin Austin III, has a reputation for being very undersized. Coach Tomlin was asked about what he sees from Austin that makes him not worry about his size.

“Speed.”

In a follow up question, Coach Tomlin was asked how he plans to utilize Austin‘s speed.

“Run extremely fast. When your small man, you better be fast in this game. And that’s the reality of it. That’s nothing new. It’s not earth shattering or groundbreaking. That is his distinguishing trade, and it has to show up in all aspects of his play”

The entire press conference can be seen here: