In just under three weeks, the Pittsburgh Steelers will roll into Latrobe and head to Saint Vincent College for another edition of training camp at Chuck Noll Field.
Things will look much different this time around as Mike McCarthy enters his first training camp as head coach of the Black and Gold. Meanwhile, a number of new faces will make their first trek to the rolling hills of Westmoreland County.
Once the Steelers arrive at training camp, much of the attention will be paid to the offensive side of the football and how things look under McCarthy, who will be calling the plays and has history of scheming up some high-scoring offenses. The Steelers desperately need that and invested heavily on that side of the football this offseason.
It was a very busy offseason under GM Omar Khan, and now the roster looks pretty good entering training camp with very few — if any — holes.
That said, there are still questions to be answered in training camp from the new pieces and young players being counted on to develop.
Below are my five most intriguing Steelers offensive players ahead of training camp.
1. MICHAEL PITTMAN JR., WR
Arguably the Steelers’ biggest and best move of the offseason was the trade for veteran receiver Michael Pittman Jr. The Steelers gave up very little for him, swapping seventh-round picks with the Indianapolis Colts to land the veteran receiver while taking advantage of Indianapolis’ cap situation.
The Steelers then turned around and extended Pittman, making sure that the veteran receiver isn’t just a one-year fit in the Steel City.
Throughout his career, Pittman has been a dependable playmaker. He’s essentially QB-proof, having put up consistent numbers year after year regardless of who the Colts had under center in a given year. In Pittsburgh, he’ll pair with Aaron Rodgers and should have a chance in McCarthy’s scheme to be a solid weapon once again.
The veteran isn’t much of a downfield threat, but he won’t need to be. The Steelers need that dependable weapon that gets open quickly and makes tough catches in traffic. That’s where Pittman excels. He’s a great fit in the West Coast-style scheme McCarthy utilizes.
But we need to see how the fit looks in training camp. There’s a lot of buzz at receiver regarding rookie Germie Bernard and some anticipation for Year 3 of Roman Wilson in a better situation. But I’ll have my eyes on Pittman right away. He’s a key piece to this offense.
2. WILL HOWARD, QB
Aaron Rodgers is the starter and will get the full season under McCarthy to end his career the right way. But if injuries occur again, the Steelers need to have a solid backup plan. Mason Rudolph wasn’t exactly that last season, struggling coming off the bench for Rodgers.
That opens the door for Will Howard, who missed almost all of his rookie season with a broken finger suffered in training camp. It allowed the Steelers to put him on IR and let him develop behind the scenes.
During the offseason, there was a lot of buzz about Howard as a potential starter for Pittsburgh, especially with Rodgers unsigned and McCarthy talking up the former Ohio State quarterback. But Howard never even took a snap in preseason last summer, so starting in Year 2 feels like a stretch.
Howard had a strong offseason and garnered a lot of praise from coaches, teammates and the media during OTAs and minicamp. He’ll get a chance to see significant reps in training camp, too. Depending on his development, he could push Rudolph off the roster. It’s a massive summer for the former sixth-round pick. Let’s see if he can deliver on some of the hype.
3. BROCK HOFFMAN, iOL
I am pretty high on Brock Hoffman entering the season compared to others. While I don’t think he’s some standout who should be a long-term starter for the Steelers, I think he’s an incredibly valuable piece the Steelers added this offseason, and on the cheap, too.
Hoffman has experience in McCarthy’s scheme, having played 737 snaps in Dallas in 2023 and 2024 combined. He saw action at left guard, center and right guard in those two years under McCarthy, serving as a valuable swing piece on the interior. In Pittsburgh, he has a chance to compete for the starting right guard job in training camp against Spencer Anderson.
The former Virginia Tech product brings a real nastiness to the trenches, playing through the whistle and is unafraid to mix it up with defenders. The Steelers need more of that up front. He feels like a better fit for the style Pittsburgh wants to play compared to Anderson, at least until rookie Gennings Dunker is ultimately ready to go.
He’s my leading candidate for the first fight in training camp, too.
If Hoffman loses the starting job battle, he feels like a guy who could push Ryan McCollum off the roster, potentially saving the Steelers a roster spot along the offensive line due to his versatility. Hopefully he gets to show that versatility in training camp.
4. RILEY NOWAKOWSKI, TE/FB
With McCarthy overseeing things offensively, his history shows the fullback will make a comeback in the Steel City in 2026 and beyond. That seems like a great role for rookie fifth-round pick Riley Nowakowski.
Though he was a tight end at Indiana, he has plenty of fullback experience, too, dating back to his time at Wisconsin. Nowakowski is a good athlete, a physical blocker, and has shown flashes of being a playmaker in the passing game, which makes him an ideal fit for the fullback role in Pittsburgh.
Throughout McCarthy’s coaching career, names like Hunter Luepke, John Kuhn and more have had plenty of success at fullback, both as a runner and a receiver. That’s where Nowakowski could fit in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers used him primarily at tight end during the offseason, lining him up in the slot at times, too. But once the pads come on, there’s hope he sees time in the backfield in that traditional fullback role, giving us all a glimpse of what could be ahead.
No. 5 — ELI HEIDENREICH, RB/WR
This list wouldn’t be complete without seventh-round pick Eli Heidenreich on it. The buzz around him right now is through the roof, which is surprising for a seventh-round pick. But he has a tremendous story, is a local product, and his versatility is very intriguing.
Heidenreich rushed for more than 1,000 yards in his career at Navy, but he also finished as the all-time receiving leader in program history and was a dominant pass-catcher during his last two seasons with the Midshipmen. He’s worked primarily with the running backs so far in Pittsburgh, but it will be something to watch if he gets any reps with receivers during training camp.
McCarthy stated he’ll open the playbook for a weapon like Heidenreich offensively. Special teams coordinator Danny Crossman said Heidenreich will get every look possible on special teams to try and carve out a role on the 53-man roster. He’s a football player, period, and hopefully that stands out during training camp.