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: Tight End
Who: Vance McDonald, Eric Ebron, Zach Gentry, Dax Raymond, Kevin Rader
The Skinny: One season after setting a team record for receptions and yardage from the tight end position (86 receptions for 1,119 yards), the Steelers got little to no production out of the position in 2019. But that wasn't necessarily because of the tight ends as much as it was two young quarterbacks refusing to throw the ball and opponents stacking the middle of the field, where tight ends to the majority of their work.
Still, McDonald didn't have a good season in 2019 after posting career bests in catches and yardage in 2018 with 50 receptions for 510 yards. The Steelers need him to bounce back, not just as a receiver, but as a blocker in 2020.
Ebron was signed to a two-year, $12-million deal in free agency to bolster the passing game. He's not much of a blocker. That's why much of those duties will fall on McDonald.
It's also why the team added a solid blocker in Raymond earlier this week. The Steelers are hopeful Gentry, a fifth-round pick last season, will make the needed jump in Year 2 to become a contributor as the No. 3 tight end. But if he doesn't Raymond, who spent last season on the Bears' practice squad, could push him.
Keep an eye on Rader, a Pine-Richland graduate who played at Youngstown State, as well. He looked good for most of training camp last year and could push for that No. 3 spot this time around.
The Edge: McDonald and Ebron are givens on the roster. Both have lengthy injury histories, but that's not uncommon at the tight end position. Players there are tasked with blocking defensive linemen and then catch passes in the middle of the field, where there's an awful of of traffic.
But the Steelers should get solid contributions from those two, regardless of which is the "starter." That really doesn't matter since both will play a lot. And if both play 14-plus games, the team could approach its production from the position of 2018.
The No. 3 job will be up for grabs. Earlier this year, GM Kevin Colbert talked glowingly of Gentry's progress during his rookie season, but the fact the Steelers added Raymond earlier this week, releasing Christian Scotland-Williamson, perhaps doesn't belie that.
Rader outperformed Gentry for much of camp and the preseason last year before a couple of late drops in the preseason perhaps doomed him to the practice squad. The Steelers aren't married to keeping a fifth-round draft pick, so Gentry will have to show he made that jump to which Colbert referred, particularly as a blocker and special teams player, to earn the third spot this year.
Tomorrow: Safety
Monday: If Feiler is at LG, who starts at RT?
Tuesday: Steelers have options at nose tackle
