Samuels makes the most of his chance
Jaylen Samuels finally got his chance Saturday evening and he made it pay off.
Yes, he got himself a spot on my team.
I do this in reverse. Instead of crossing players off the list, I add when I鈥檓 just about certain he鈥檚 a fit for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Samuels was among a small group of players I added today to what had been a 42-player group entering the important third preseason game.
The Steelers, of course, will wait until Saturday to name their team. Actually, players such as Samuels, a fifth-round rookie, will have to wait another six days until Le鈥橵eon Bell is officially activated the day before the game. That 54th player last year was LB Steven Johnson, who had been acquired from the post-cut scrapheap.
Samuels might even help the numbers with his college pedigree. Listed as a tight end at North Carolina State, Samuels was drafted by the Steelers to be a running back. On Saturday, he took his turn in the barrel and rushed 11 times for 41 yards and caught four passes for 36 yards in his busiest game yet. He also had a 17-yard touchdown catch 鈥� in which he made two tacklers miss in the open field 鈥� called back because of a wide receiver鈥檚 hold.
But while Samuels appeared to have locked up a spot at running back, he doesn鈥檛 think he can help at tight end, where Vance McDonald (foot) and Xavier Grimble (thumb) are supposed to be back for the opener but have consistently watched practice from the sideline.
Samuels is a 6-0, 225-pounder who was more of an H-back at N.C. State. So far, he鈥檚 strictly been a running back with the Steelers.
鈥淣o, I haven鈥檛 been trained any tight end,鈥� Samuels said Saturday night. 鈥淚t would be as a receiver, but not tight end, not blocking, not hand on the ground, not at the No. 3 receiver, more as a split out wide guy, motioning it from the backfield. It鈥檚 been coming like that so far.鈥�
At least Samuels showed enough chops as a running back to at least hold his own place on the depth chart if the Steelers think it鈥檚 too much of a stretch to put him in the TE room for a week.
Here鈥檚 my expanded 47-man roster with the Saturday cuts looming. The newest additions are in italics.
QUARTERBACK (3)
Josh Dobbs may start and play the entire fourth preseason game, but in my opinion his only chance to make the team is with an injury. He won鈥檛 be kept on the practice squad, either, and that鈥檚 a shame for a great locker-room guy.
In: Ben Roethlisberger, Landry Jones, Mason Rudolph.
RUNNING BACK (4)
The Steelers haven鈥檛 kept five running backs since 2013 when Bell injured his foot during his rookie preseason. But I still have room for one or maybe two players making it from an offensive group that includes Stevan Ridley, Fitzgerald Toussaint, return specialist Quadree Henderson, receiver Marcus Tucker and perhaps a tight end if needed.
In: Le鈥橵eon Bell, James Conner, Roosevelt Nix, Jaylen Samuels.
WIDE RECEIVER (5)
Darrius Heyward-Bey has started all three preseason games and been targeted only once. He doesn鈥檛 have a catch, or a special-teams tackle, and in spite of his revered status as an elite gunner 鈥� due to his impressive size-speed ratio 鈥� he made only six tackles on special teams last year and caught only two passes, one a fake punt, another he should鈥檝e dropped in the waning seconds against New England. But I鈥檓 adding DHB to the list because he has started those three games when so many other young receivers are available for those important snaps.
In: Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Justin Hunter, James Washington, Darrius Heyward-Bey.
TIGHT END (3)
Bucky Hodges showed some blocking 鈥渨ant-to鈥� in getting out in front of screens Saturday, and undrafted rookie Pharoah McKever grabbed another pass (although it was called back). I assumed these two were battling for a job on the practice squad, but injuries give them a chance to make the varsity. This could be the spot for a waiver claim or trade, too.
In: Vance McDonald, Jesse James, Xavier Grimble.
OFFENSIVE LINE (8)
A fourth tackle could also be in their sites, but in my opinion guard Matt Feiler could play tackle in an emergency, or Jake Rodgers could be called up from the practice squad. I stick with eight here.
In: Alejandro Villanueva, Ramon Foster, Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro, Marcus Gilbert, B.J. Finney, Matt Feiler, Chukwuma Okorafor.
DEFENSIVE LINE (6)
No movement here, either, and no further spot required. Lavon Hooks has received a good, long look and on Saturday recorded a late sack but he鈥檚 still eligible for the practice squad.
In: Cameron Heyward, Javon Hargrave, Stephon Tuitt, Tyson Alualu, Daniel McCullers, L.T. Walton.
LINEBACKER (7)
As with DHB, it鈥檚 becoming obvious the Steelers will keep Anthony Chickillo. He鈥檚 the experienced vet among an interesting group of rookie and first-year OLBs. There鈥檚 still a spot open for Keion Adams, Ola Adeniyi or Farrington Huguenin as the fourth OLB. Inside, Tyler Matakevich played well Saturday and showed he belongs as a backup at both ILB spots and is a strong special-teams player. L.J. Fort had an even better game, had a touchdown called back, and is better in coverage than Matakevich, but even though Fort has no practice-squad eligibility I think he鈥檚 this year鈥檚 Johnson, who was cut the day before last year鈥檚 opener when Bell became official, and was re-signed after the game.
In: T.J. Watt, Bud Dupree, Anthony Chickillo, Vince Williams, Jon Bostic, Matthew Thomas, Tyler Matakevich.
DEFENSIVE BACK (8)
How serious is Mike Hilton鈥檚 injury? He says not too, but they call him 鈥渨eek to week.鈥� This needs to be monitored at the cornerback spot with DaShaun Phillips available as an experienced slot player. At safety, Nat Berhe had a strong game and was back as the personal protector on the punt team Saturday. He and Sensabaugh played more defensive snaps than anyone else Saturday. Sensabaugh is tied with Terrell Edmunds for second in defensive snaps this preseason with 100, nine behind Bostic. Berhe may have moved ahead of Jordan Dangerfield on my list, but not far enough to make it as the fourth safety yet. A maximum of two spots remain available in the secondary.
In: Joe Haden, Artie Burns, Mike Hilton, Cameron Sutton, Coty Sensabaugh, Sean Davis, Morgan Burnett, Terrell Edmunds.
SPECIALISTS (3)
Henderson could only flash a bit on his 6-yard punt return but has yet to show the dynamic skills we remember from his college days at Pitt.
In: Chris Boswell, Jordan Berry, Kameron Canaday.
That gives us 47 of 53, with 23 on offense, 21 on defense, and three on special teams.
Six more spots will be filled after the final preseason game Thursday night, and the guess is that two are for offense and four for defense. Stay tuned.