Through the midway point of the season lets take a recap of how the Steelers rookies have been playing. 

Round 1 Pick 12 DT Brandon Church, South Carolina - has started every game this season at DT #2. Currently has 3 sacks and 9 solo tackles. The Steelers are impressed with this big man and hope he continues to progress. He has made his way from 75-76 overall but still sits at normal dev. We are  hoping for a breakout challenge on this one.

Round 2 Pick 12 DE David Thomas, Ohio State - has just recently surpassed 4th year player Alex Highsmith as a starting 4-3 DE and 3-4 OLB. He has shown flashes of greatness but not materialized on the stat sheet yet. We are hopeful that he devlops and the stats get better. Currently he has 1 lone solo tackle and no sacks, but there were some nice QB pressures by him. He has developed from a 72-73 overall and still normal dev.

Round 3 Pick 11 DE Stanley Kitchens, Florida State - is still listed as a backup on the depth chart and has yet to see the field. Has developed from 70-71 overall. There is upside with this one so he may be an injury away from playing time.

Round 4 Pick 12 QB Joey Hardison, Boise State - has been #2 QB all season since week 1. Has developed from 67-68 but has not seen any playing time aside from victory formation kneels .

Round 5 Pick 12 RG Gerald Irwin - has been a backup all season and not yet seen the field. Has developed promisinly from 65-68 overall. Possible he could break into a starter role next season as some older linemen retire or hit free agency.

Round 6 Pick 12 HB Javonte Cheecks, Minnesota - has bumped up to #3 back. Has shown promise in practice. Has a nice mixture of size and speed. But with a deep RB room has not seen the field aside from 1 snap for 1 yard run. Has developed from a 66-71.

Round 7 Pick 12 WR Larry Greenward, Troy - a promising wr here. Star dev and has developed from 63-68. Has recently been promoted to #4 wr on depth chart. Has started as kick/punt returner all season. Is shifty and has the speed the Steelers want in their wr. Look for him to make an impact in the future.

Thats it for this review. Pretty happy with this group of rookies even though none have the luster of superstart or xfactor.

The Steelers have shipped long time wide receiver JuJu Smith-Shuster  and a 4th round pick in upcoming draft to the Panthers in exchange for wide receiver Darius Slayton, stand out linebacker Anthony Barr, and a 3rd rd pick in upcoming draft. 

Panthers are getting a versatile wide receiver in JuJu who they hope will get back into his glory days with the Panthers organization. In 2020 JuJu had a very productive 57 catch 1004yd 4td season but then followed that up with two disappaointing mid 300 yd seasons with the emergence of stand out wide receiver Darrel Pinkney the Steelers felt it was time to move on from JuJu but wish him well with the Panthers..

The Steelers are getting a true great xfactor linebacke in Anthony Barr who should make an immediate impact on the team as the linebacker group was a glaring weak spot. Darius Slayton will immediately become the #2 wide receiver on the Steelers depth chart and hopefully make an impact in the Steelers passing attack.

All in all good trade hopefully will work out for both sides.

Steelers coach was hospitalized during draft and had to retire soley on having his 12 year old son Dane set up a draft board for him before the draft. This is the results of that:

Round 1 Pick 12 DT Brandon Church, South Carolina - a total beast of a DT with quick for his size acceleration and devastating power rush moves he looked to be a day 1 starter out of camp and was. In his first game he notched 2 solo tackles and a sack on Ravens QB Lamar Jackson. He was disruptive and the line and got to the QB just what we wanted in our young DT.

Round 2 Pick 12 DE David Thomas, Ohio State - was a force in college where he relied on his strength and bullrush move to get to the QB quick. But he may be a developmental piece and a rotation player with the Steelers. His not ideal speed at the position and just average strength for his size may make him get stock on tackles at the NFL level. He did not play any snaps week 1 which is troubling to see out of your 2nd rd pick.

Round 3 Pick 11 DE Stanley Kitchens, Florida State - quite similar to David Thomas was a force at college but will his undersized stature and not elite speed translate to the NFL level. Only time will tell but not in week 1 as he saw no action in that game.

Round 4 Pick 12 QB Joey Hardison, Boise State - a suprise pick by the Steelers here drafting a QB after signing up Deshawn Watson long term last season. But you can never have to many quality cheap QB on the roster is the reason he was on the board. Hardison is a very balanced QB who lacks elite speed or but make up for it with his elite arm strength and solid accuracy. He bumped Joe Bost from QB on depth chart in camp and is now locked into that position.

Round 5 Pick 12 RG Gerald Irwin, Mississippi State - a very balanced lineman who project to be a depth player this year and given enough time to develop could find his way a starter position in the future. Saw no action in week 1.

Round 6 Pick 12 HB Javonte Cheecks, Minnesota - a power back with some speed is always a welcome addition. Only time will tell if his run over rather than around style of run with work in the MOF. Saw no action in week 1.

Round 7 Pick 12 WR Larry Greenward, Troy - a slightly undersized deep threat wr who was a good route runner with signs of being a start at Troy. His only week spot is getting off of physical cornerback play. He impressed during camp and saw action in week 1. Dropping what would have been a 20+ yard catch in his only target week 1. 

Overall a pretty good draft with solid depth and a few potential starters and 1 surefire starter.

Here the we are week 13 in MOF Season 59. The Steelers sit at a disappointing 5-7. There were a lot of disappointingly close games this season that the Steelers lost. Those 7 loses they were lost by margins of 4,15,3,10,3,6,4. We feel as with a little better decision making and luck we could have been a 10-2 team right now. No more would-a could-a should-a talk, now we get down to the review of the rookies.

1-2 Gordon Morris CB Vanderbilt - has been exceptional at disrupting passes this season with 11 break ups, 2 interceptions, and a defensive touchdown. He has lived up to his high draft stock and looks to have a bright future with the Steelers.

1-11 Nathan Strong DT UCF - has been reliable and effecient but not quite lived up to his draft status. He is not as explosive as he looked at UCF which led to his being drafted so high. Srong only become a starter once longtime Steelers Tuitt was shipped to the Raiders as part of the Josh Jacobs trade. Strong has 1 sack and 6 solo tackles this season. Rumor has Coach Double is kicking himself in the ass for picking him here when he had LB Ray Franklin on his board ahead of Strong but character concerns led to him not being drafted at 11.

2-14 Pat Elam MLB N.C. State - the consolation prize for not drafting Franklin. We landed Pat Elam in the second round and he has started at MLB since day 1 of this season. He has been making people take notice of him and will be in consideration for defensive rookie of the year. He has 38 solo tackles, 1 sack, 3 interceptions on the season and is leading the Steelers in total tackles on the season.

3-11 Colin Austin QB Michigan - was sent to Texans for a 2nd round draft picks which was this sent to Raiders as part of the Josh Jacobs trade. He has been the started for the Texans since they cut Trubisky. He has showed glimmers of being a starting caliber QB in the MOF but no consistentcy as of yet.

4-11 Jimmy Linton MLB Arkansas State - has recently been named started OLB in 4-3 base defense. A role player as of yet with some potential. His speed and athleticism help him get to the ball fast and  make some plays. So far on the season he has 6 solo tackles and 1 sack.

5-11 LaDarius Linton LT Tennesse - a developmental offensive line player who has yet to see the field. Rumor has it he may start next season when some of the older Steelers O-line retire.

6-11 Josh Boatwright LT Alabama - a steal of a 6th rd draft pick. Star Boatright has started all season for the Steelers and has been improiving drastically every game. Looks to be a long time Steeler. Has allowed 2 sacks on the season.

7-11 Henry Nelson P Iowa - after being cut immediately by the Steelers he landed on the Falcons practice squad where he still remains.

Breaking News! The Steelers have traded veteran CB Mike Hilton to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange the the Colts 3rd round draft selection in the 2023 draft. This trade comes as the Steelers hit the midway point of the season sitting at a very disappointing record of 2-6. Trading away a high quality cornerback of Hilton seems like they are giving up on their season. When asked Steelers head coach DoubleD  had the following to say. "Feels like we have had some shitty breaks this season. We have been in alot of the games we lost by field goal or touchdown margin but we just cant seem to get on a roll. We wish Hilton the best in Indy and the rest of his career. Was a decision based on the future more so than this season." Hilton had been productive for the Steelers the prior two seasons but with rookie CB Gordon Morris suprasing both Hilton and Nelson to become #1 on the depth chart Hilton  had been delegated to splitting time at slot cb with FA signing D.J. Reed. D.J. Reed had been getting the edge on Hilton lately so the writing was on the wall that Hiltons' days in Pittsburgh were numbered.

The Steelers have traded for elite running back Josh Jacobs from the Raiders. The Steelers were looking for a more physical back to pair with 2nd year senstation David McCall at running back. "Make no mistake we are not giving up on McCall. He has done everything we asked of him and will continue to serve a vital role in this offense."said Coach Double D. This trade was about getting more physical in the run game in short yardage situations and giving McCall some time to catch his breathe so he stays explosive., The Steelers had to give up long time DT Stephon Tuitt. We wish him nothing but the best with the Raiders. We liked what we have saw from 1st round pick Nathan Strong at DT and we wanted to get him more snaps. We had a very good problem to have at DT we had too many quality starters we could afford to trade away one. The trade sent Stephon Tuitt, speedy pass rusher Josh Sweat, and the Texans 2nd rd pick in the upcoming draft in exchange for the elite HB Jacobs. We hope the trade pans out as expected and we can make a playoff push this season. 

Well its the end of week 4 in MOF and the Steelers are off to a very disappointing start after acquiring Deshawn Watson and sitting at 1-3. Week 1 saw the Steelers start their season strong and win over a tough Saints team and talented coach 35-31. But there was early signs of trouble as the Steelers D allowed 396 yds passing and 3 TD to 0 INT for newly acquired Saints QB Aaron Rodgers. Week 2 saw the Steelers lose a defensive battle 14-10 to the Browns and their smallest DT to ever start at the position in NFL history converted OLB/DE pass rusher Myles Garret at 272lbs somehow man handle 330lb Centers at DT so whatever works I guess... Week 3 saw the Steelers face a talented Panthers coach and team 29-14. This is a game we feel we should have won but we were held on 4th and goal multiple times in the game and could not get any running room. That was not an issue for Christian McCaffrey who had 29 carries for 274yds and 3tds in the game. Week 4 saw the Steelers face the Bengals in an offensive shootout that saw the Steelers fall 35-38. The Steelers committed too many turnover this game to have a real shot at winning "Turnovers have not went in our favor. It feels like we get in the position to make big play turnovers on D and we either drop the pick or they recover their own fumble. Nothing seems to be falling in our favor." said Coach Double D.

Week 1 saw the Steelers face off against a very tought Saints team. The game was close throughtout the contest. The Saints defense harassed Watson for the entire game compling 5 sacks and causing 1 interception. Players of the game for the Saints were QB Aaron Rodgers on offense who passed for 396yds and 3 tds against no interceptions and FS Chauncey Gardner-Johnson on defense who intercepted a pass had two tackles and a sack. For the Steelers on offense was HB David McCall whom had 12 carries for 73yds and 2 rushing touchdowns through the air he hauled in 8 catches for 91 yards and recent free agent signing DE Dee Ford whom had 3 tackles and 2 sacks in the contest. In the end the Steelers prevailed 35-31 against this very tought Saints team. Good game Saints and good luck the rest of the season.

Steelers have welcomed their new players to training camp and after the first 4 weeks of preason there are some interesting take aways. To recap the draft the Steelers selected the following players:

1-2 Gordon Morris CB Vanderbilt 

1-11 Nathan Strong DT UCF

2-14 Pat Elam MLB N.C. State

3-11 Colin Austin QB Michigan

4-11 Jimmy Linton MLB Arkansas State

5-11 LaDarius Linton LT Tennesse

6-11 Josh Boatwright LT Alabama

7-11 Henry Nelson P Iowa

1st round pick Gordon Morris impressed in camp and will be #2 on the depth chart entering this season starting alongside Minkah Fitzpatrick. 1st round pick Nathan Strong came to camp out of shape a bit and was not as physical as he looked at UCF. He was drated to be 4-3 DT and 3-4 DE there are rumbling of him making the switch to 4-3 DE as of know he is #3 on DT depth chart. 2nd round pick Pat Elam was considered to be a reach when drated in the second round and most had him going in the 5-6th round range. He impressed early in camp with his speed and eye for the ball at lb and got the starting spot at MLB. 3rd round pick QB Colin Austin was dominant at Michigan and when he was still available in the 3rd round the Steelers just had to take him as he was there highest rated QB on the board with a 2nd round grade from them. 4th round pick Jimmy Linton had a dominant college career at Arkansas State was drafted to ensure depth at the MLB position. He had some flashes of what the Steelers were looking for in camp but appears to be a special teams player and quality depth. 5th round pick LaDarius Linton started two years in college at LT and was a solid player. He learned a lot in his first professional camp but still not enough to start on a talented Steelers offensive line. 6th round pick Josh Boatwright out of Alabama appears to be a late round gem for the Steelers. He showed up in shape and focused and appears to have locked up the 5th spot in the Steelers offensive line starting at LG. 7th rd pick punter Henry Nelson failed to impress anyone at the Steelers organization when drafted. He reported to camp wearing political shirts and rocking a hipster man bun so he was promptly cut from the Steelers organization. Looks like he has landed on the Falcons practice squad as of now but surely that will not last... I mean the guy is wearing a man bun.