The Steelers will open training camp July 28 at Heinz Field. As is usually the case, camp will include a number of battles, not just for roster spots, but for starting jobs.
This series will take a look at those battles as we head into camp.
Today: Nose Tackle
Who: Tyson Alualu, Daniel McCullers, Chris Wormley
The Skinny: Mike Tomlin said Alualu, who played very well last season when pressed into increased action when Stephon Tuitt was lost for the season, will get the first chance to replace Javon Hargrave. And Alualu has experience on his side.
While not a "true" nose tackle, Alualu can eat up blocks. At 6-foot-3 and around 310 pounds, he has the size to hold the point when needed. He also has 157 career NFL games under his belt, including 47 with the Steelers in three seasons. He also has a nice, thick base.
McCullers actually has more experience with the Steelers -- 73 games to be exact. He's never played more than 182 snaps in a season, with that coming all the way back in 2016. The past two seasons, McCullers has played 111 and 131 snaps, which is probably more than anyone thought, mostly because he's done so little in that time on the field. But he is a "true" nose tackle.
Wormley comes to the Steelers for a 2021 fifth-round draft pick from the Ravens. He played 39 percent of the defensive snaps for the Ravens, primarily at nose tackle, in 2018. That jumped for 48 percent of the defensive snaps in 2019 when he moved to defensive end. At 6-foot-5, 300 pounds, he's built more like Tuitt and Cam Heyward than he is a nose tackle, but he can line up there in a pinch, as can Heyward and Tuitt.
The Edge: There's no reason to think Alualu can't hold down this job and perhaps share some time with Wormley at nose tackle. After all, the Steelers played their base 3-4 defense just 29 percent of the time last season. Their true base defense is and has been the nickel, which they played 51 percent of the time. And that defense doesn't employ a nose tackle.
The Steelers allowed 3.8 yards per carry last season, which was third-best in the NFL. Hargrave was a big part of that, but so was Alualu.
Keep an eye on youngsters Carlos Davis, a seventh-round draft pick this year, and Henry Mondeaux, who spent the 2019 season on the practice squad, as potential players who can beat out McCullers for a roster spot if he's not in the mix at nose tackle.
Both guys can line up inside or outside and could give the Steelers more flexibility up front.
Tomorrow: Tight end
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