Steelers 2022 Training Camp Recap, Day 4: Kenny Pickett finally gets his “shot”

The Pittsburgh Steelers are back at Saint Vincent College for the first time since 2019, and fans have descended on Latrobe, PA in hopes of catching a glimpse of the 2022 team.

What went down during the latest training camp practice? That is where this article comes in. Check out all that was said, as well as photos and videos from the day’s workouts.

Here we go...

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a lot of questions marks across the roster, and it will take every practice and preseason game for the coaching staff to find a way to get answers to those questions. There were a lot of storylines to come out of Saturday’s practice, and we highlight some of those below:

7 Shots

There is always a lot of talk surrounding the Steelers usage of the 7 Shots drill. At this point, fans expect it to be the first team drill of every training camp practice. While the drill ramps up on Monday when pads come on, how players compete is certainly worth noting.

On Saturday, Mitch Trubisky continued to struggle, Mason Rudolph was average, but a new quarterback was allowed to participate in the drill.

That would be one Kenny Pickett.

Pickett was given one repetition in the drill, and he made the most of it. He put up a beautiful touch pass to Tyler Vaughn, but whether it was a touchdown or not was disputed.

Thanks to Charles Palla, the photo of the pass certainly looks like Vaughn got his elbow, and his hip, down in bounds before landing out of bounds. At least by this still image, it looks as though Pickett’s first red-zone pass in 7 Shots was a touchdown.

After practice Tomlin was asked about Pickett only getting one rep in the drill, and he reiterated how reps will come. It’s still early in the camp process.

Injury Update

As for injuries, Marcus Allen joined the growing list of players on the injured list. Allen, like Pat Freiermuth, was out with a hamstring injury. Chase Claypool was out with the shoulder injury he sustained Friday, and Connor Heyward got his ankle rolled up on during practice, but seemed to be okay.

Going Skeet Shooting

The Steelers defense has been the better unit thus far in camp, and that can be expected considering the amount of new faces on the offensive side of the ball. Nonetheless, when the defense takes the ball away, they’ve been doing a new celebration. The player who took the ball away throws the ball into the air, and the fellow defenders pretend to shoot the ball out of the air...

DJ Return Monday?

Diontae Johnson’s hold-in continues, but could he return when pads come on? Mike Tomlin was asked about this after practice and refused to make any predictions.

Mason Impressing

The one thing most Steelers fans don’t want to hear is Mason Rudolph potentially winning the quarterback job out of camp. Well, most would suggest he has been the best of the bunch in the early portions of camp. Technically, he should be the best considering his experience within the system, but it is still worth noting how well Rudolph has played thus far.

Hall of Honor

The Steelers announced their Hall of Honor inductees for the 2022 class, and one of those was in attendance.

Heath Miller, a part of the 2022 class, was in attendance at Saint Vincent and was hanging out with former teammate Ike Taylor.

Tomlin Gives Thanks

Mike Tomlin gave an empowering speech to the fans at practice Saturday before the team got started with their work. Take a listen to some of what Tomlin said to the nearly 17k in attendance.

Slim Press?

Last season the nickname many used for rookie punter Pressley Harvin III was “Big Press”. Not only is Harvin a big guy, but he can also move a lot of weight in the weight room. Nonetheless, heading into Year 2 Harvin has dropped weight. How much weight? According to Dale Lolley, who asked Harvin, the punter is down 35-40 pounds from last year. Is the new nickname “Slim Press”?

Mike Tomlin Post-Practice Press Conference

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