Five Takeaways From The Steelers Preseason Opener
Last season, the Steelers set the world on fire in the preseason. That isn’t the case through one game this season, but that's okay. CJ Stroud and the Houston Texans came to town to open up the Steelers preseason and left Acrisure Stadium with a 20-12 win. Even though the Steelers couldn't grab a win, there were a lot of takeaways from the preseason opener. Both good and bad.
5. Najee Harris Looked Faster
Although he didn’t get many chances in the open field, the screen pass to open the game showed how hard Najee Harris has worked this offseason. He likely hears all the noise and disrespect put on his name, and now he’s playing for a contract. Although it was just a taste, Harris is coming differently this season.
4. Nick Herbig Has A Chance To Be A Star
With Markus Golden heading for retirement, Nick Herbig will pick up more responsibility heading into his second NFL season. In his rookie year, he was able to gather three sacks, five tackles for loss, and 27 total tackles on just 17% of defensive snaps. In the preseason opener, he showed us the work he’s put in this offseason alongside TJ Watt. Herbig might not have filled up the stat sheet, but his burst looked great and he was setting edges out there.
3. Arthur Smith’s Offense Looked Good
It’s only a preseason game, so of course teams aren’t rolling out the full playbook, but Steelers Nation should be happy at some things they saw. Some concepts that black and gold fans aren’t used to seeing over the past handful of seasons were a refreshing sight. Are the Steelers using play action from under center? Is this real life? It will be fun to see Arthur Smith’s first season in Pittsburgh at the helm of the offense.
2. Steelers Cornerback Depth Is Concerning
The Steelers starting cornerbacks are likely better than they have been in the past 10 seasons. Joey Porter Jr and Donte Jackson will be the guys the Steelers lean on the most, but beyond that it gets blurry.
Undrafted Free Agent Beanie Bishop seems to be the plan for the slot corner role as of right now, but it’s fair to wonder if that’s where Cameron Sutton will slot in once he returns from suspension. It wouldn’t be a bad idea for the Steelers to browse the free-agent market for a corner.
1. Troy Fautanu’s Welcome To The NFL Moment
Steelers first-round pick Troy Fautanu got his first taste of NFL action in the preseason opener, although he left with a knee injury that has now been evaluated as not serious. He was tasked with trying to stop the Texans’ newly acquired star, Danielle Hunter. Although Hunter didn’t play much, he was able to grab a sack and a tackle for loss on Fautanu’s watch. That’s no easy task to handle for a rookie's first NFL game.
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