Steelers Analysis•Steelers Training Camp
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Germie Bernard at training camp on July 30, 2026. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
UNITY TWP, Pa. — Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy spent Friday morning before practice praising the work that wide receiver Roman Wilson had done in the first two practices of training camp.
Then, he gave his job away.
McCarthy said at the podium before practice that, even though he hadn’t even told Wilson yet, he was going to give him some work at outside receiver going forward.
Wilson did get some of that eventually on Friday. Before that, rookie Germie Bernard got first-team reps at wide receiver. Friday’s practice wasn’t exactly a strong test (more on that later), but Bernard looked the part. On one early pass from Aaron Rodgers, Bernard was expecting it to be delivered to his front shoulder along the sideline. Rodgers threw it to his back shoulder and Bernard made a nice adjustment in the air to come down with a difficult catch.
That promoted my WPXI teammate Jenna Harner to note that Bernard never drops anything — and you know what, she’s right. He doesn’t. I don’t think I’ve seen him drop a single pass since he got to Pittsburgh. If he drops one on Saturday, it’s my fault — and Jenna’s.
While the backup quarterback battle continues to draw the attention of the fanbase, and we won’t learn much about the open offensive line spots until the pads go on next week, Bernard vs. Wilson is probably the most interesting position battle on this team right now.
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Roman Wilson at training camp on July 30, 2026. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Wilson had a good spring and has carried that momentum over into training camp. The mental lapses of his past seem to be largely behind him and he has also caught nearly everything thrown his way.
Aaron Rodgers had plenty of good things to say about him at his camp-opening press availability, too.
“I think the guy out of anybody that’s really shown this new staff, because it is a new staff, a lot of great tape is Roman Wilson,” Rodgers said. “I think Roman had a really nice spring. Got to know him on a deeper level during that trip, which was fun.But I expect him to start to make some splash plays. He did in the spring. And I expect him to have a nice camp.”
Bernard has impressed, as well. He’s had more mistakes than Wilson so far in camp, but plenty of highlights, too, and generally seems way ahead of the curve for a rookie at his position. Bernard has mostly worked behind Wilson, but he has also gotten reps in place of Michael Pittman Jr. on the outside.
Right now, it seems that Wilson remains ahead of the rookie, but this should be a battle to watch throughout camp, and it’s also a meaningful one. While there have been times in McCarthy’s tenure that he has split the target share between his team’s third and fourth wide receivers fairly equally — most notably Brandin Cooks and KaVonte Turpin in 2024, there have also been years where the difference has been quite lopsided.
So the battle isn’t just about who is No. 3 and who is No. 4, but whether that third player can create and separation in terms of their roles over the course of the season.
Mike McCarthy’s WR3 and WR4s
WR3 (Targets)WR4 (Targets)2024 DALBrandin Cooks (54)KaVonte Turpin (52)2023 DALMichael Gallup (57)Jalen Tolbert (36)2022 DALMichael Gallup (74)T.Y. Hilton (10)2021 DALMichael Gallup (62)Cedric Wilson Jr. (61)2020 DALMichael Gallup (105)Cedrick Wilson Jr. (28)2018 GBRandall Cobb (61)Equanimeous St. Brown (36)2017 GBJordy Nelson (88)Geronimo Allison (39)2016 GBRandall Cobb (84)Geronimo Allison (22)2015 GBDavante Adams (94)Ty Montgomery (19)2014 GBDavante Adams (66)Jarrett Boykin (12)
McCarthy’s Feel-Good Friday Review Day
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy at training camp on July 30, 2026. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Early in Friday’s practice, Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth made a move on an out route and made a catch right in front of closing linebacker Payton Wilson. Freiermuth let out a sarcastic little “yeah” after he made the grab. Wilson laughed at him, and both players slapped hands.
While Freiermuth was trying to catch the pass, Wilson wasn’t really tying to stop him. All of Friday’s practice was taken an a walk-through pace. Players didn’t wear helmets, simply jogging their reps. No defender made a serious effort to stop any passes from being completed, mostly standing still.
It’s quite a departure from what the norm has been at Steelers training camp over the years. Essentially, after two full-speed but padless practices on Wednesday and Thursday, the Steelers took a step back to go over everything they had learned — like a review day before a test in grade school.
“It’s a format I’ve always tried to go one or two installs, review, two installs, review. So it kind of matches the workload capacity of what you’re looking for, as far as like next week, we’ll have two padded practices, review, then we’ll have three padded practices, which will be the biggest stress point, and it’s more going into the Saturday night scrimmage in downtown,” head coach Mike McCarthy said on Friday. “So, it’s a flow that really works physically, mentally and it really gives you a chance to hit all the situations.”
For Freiermuth, Wilson and the rest of the Steelers, this schedule is completely different than what they’re used to. For someone like Brock Hoffman, who played for McCarthy for years with the Dallas Cowboys, this is more the norm.
“Same old, same old, honestly,” Hoffman said. “The schedule pretty much looks identical. Which is very, I’d say, player-friendly, in terms of giving us time for recovery. He talked about it in the first team meeting we had, he said all those years I was with him in Dallas. He takes pride in his schedule. It’s competitive for him and allows us to have time to take care of our bodies so we can have a healthy training camp.”
And Now for Something Completely Different
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Patrick Graham at training camp on July 30, 2026. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Last season, the Steelers got through the entirety of training camp without ever bothering to install a Dime package.
The theory was that with solid coverage linebackers Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson, and not many teams playing with four wide receivers, that there wouldn’t be much of a need for a six-defensive back package.
That didn’t turn out to be the case, and the Steelers eventually ended up installing a Dime look in the middle of last season.
This year, Patrick Graham isn’t wasting any time. During Friday’s practice they ran through some end-of-game scenarios, and part of that was his defensive lining up not with six defensive backs, as in a Dime look, but seven.
The defense had cornerbacks Asante Samuel Jr. and Jamel Dean, safeties DeShon Elliott and Jaquan Brisker and usual Nickel Brandin Echols. Added to that group was rookie safety Robert Spears-Jennings, who along with Echols was pressed up on an interior receiver, and slot cornerback D’Shawn Jamison, playing right between the two safeties at the goal line.
Quarterback Shakedown
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy and quarterback Drew Allar at training camp on July 30, 2026. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Without a defense chasing them, or the defensive backs doing much to cover their receivers, it should be no surprise that the quarterbacks all looked very good on Friday.
Rodgers showed off, hitting tight end Darnell Washington on a no-look pass.
The teams split up into two groups, with the top units facing one another on the main field and the second units facing one another on the second field. Will Howard and Drew Allar went to the second field, where McCarthy also went, following the progress of his developmental quarterbacks.
Injury Updates
🏈 CBs Joey Porter Jr. (back), Donte Kent (ACL surgery) and Jalen Ramsey (knee) all did not practice and remain on the PUP list.
🏈 SS DeShon Elliott didn’t take as many reps as he did on Thursday, but more than he did on Wednesday.
🏈 As far as I could tell, there were no new injuries. Also as far as I can tell, that’s the first time I’ve ever covered the first three practices of Steelers training camp without a single new injury, and I’ve been coming here for nearly a decade.
Notes From Team Periods
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson at training camp on July 31, 2026. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
🏈 In addition to his role as the team’s seventh defensive back, Jamison also worked as a punt gunner on the first-team, a place Roman Wilson had been getting reps.
🏈 Kaleb Johnson continues to be the obvious No. 3 running back, stepping in after Rico Dowdle and Jaylen Warren every time. On Friday, he even got some reps with the first team.
🏈 Robert Tonyan has also been the clear No. 3 at tight end, mostly working with the second team. Jaheim Bell, despite his second drop of camp on Friday, has been getting work behind him, with rookie Riley Nowakowski mostly working at fullback and on special teams, where he was an up-back on the punt team.
🏈 Keeanu Benton and Yayha Black were flip-flopping reps between nose tackle and defensive end in the base defense. Dean Lowry and Gabriel Rubio were the sixth and seventh defensive linemen with the top group.
🏈 Second-year linebacker Carson Bruener has been out-snapping veteran Malik Harrison for the No. 4 linebacker role. With Harrison carrying a significant cap hit, that has to have his roster status is a precarious position.
Mentioned In This Article: Brock Hoffman Germie Bernard Mike McCarthy Pittsburgh Steelers Roman Wilson Steelers Steelers Training Camp top