Steelers PR director Burt Lauten (get to know him) gave us a glimpe of the first iteration of the Steelers' depth chart this year.
The first @steelers depth chart of 2013 (subject to change). pic.twitter.com/i25JBDUc19
— Burt Lauten (@SteelersPRBurt) July 28, 2013
Nothing revolutionary here, but it's our first bit of real training camp news. There are no rookies ahead of veterans anywhere on the roster, which is par for the course as far as the Steelers are concerned. Jobs are never handed over to rookies without them having to work for it, and while Le'Veon Bell is going to get his playing time, he's not going to supplant Isaac Redman, Jonathan Dwyer, LaRod Stephens-Howling, or even Baron Batch in his first practice. Ditto Shamarko Thomas, who is the 3rd strong safety behind Troy Polamalu (obviously) and Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith (less obviously). I'd be surprised if Thomas isn't finding plenty of playing time throughout training camp and the regular season.
The one notable quasi-exception is Drew Butler being listed ahead of Brian Moorman, although Butler is the incumbent and Moorman is the newcomer, despite his NFL tenure.
Also of note is that Cortez Allen is ahead of William Gay in the race for the second starting cornerback position. Though it could be a similar case to what we're seeing with Butler and Moorman, Gay is far more accomplished as a Steeler than Allen is. Still, Allen showed some promise in his limited playing time last season; something that may have given him the edge as training camp opened. There's a lot of time to duke it out for these roster spots, though.
The Steelers' first preseason game is August 10th against the New York Giants.
