Fische » The Steelers rookie draft class is absolutely perfect right now.

"The Steelers began their rookie mini-camp on Friday Dan McCullers Jersey , which, quite frankly, was two weeks after I thought it was already over (I don’t know mini-camps).Anyway, as it pertains to the actual drafted portion of the rookie class, you can still feel that love, can't you? That familiar infatuation one feels at the beginning of a relationship.For example, receiver Diontae Johnson, the third-round pick and Antonio Brown clone from Toledo. He seems very humble from what I’ve seen—even though he’s a receiver—and is already a candidate for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year—at least according to Pro Football Focus who lists Johnson ninth on its list of 10 possibilities: “Johnson goes to a Steelers club that heaved the ball all over the yard last season—Ben Roethlisberger’s 675 passing attempts were 36 more than any quarterback in the NFL,” says PFF’s Michael Renner. “A whopping 164 of those targets are up for grabs with the departure of Antonio Brown. Now Johnson won’t replace Brown’s production, but he should replace his role within the offense with a very similar skill set.” Damn, I’m excited. And let’s not forget Steeler fans and Johnson are still very much in that honeymoon phase. That means Johnson will never show his quarterback up on the field. He’ll never show him up on social media. He’ll never complain about a lack of targets. And, most importantly, he’ll never Xavier Grimble Jersey , ever, ever do a touchdown celebration dance. Obviously, when it comes to Devin Bush, the number one pick Pittsburgh traded up 10 spots to draft, he’ll fit in with the defense right away and quickly become the play-maker at inside linebacker Ryan Shazier was for many seasons. What about cornerback Justin Layne, the other third-round pick? He’s a handsome devil, isn’t he? Just look at those cheekbones. Is that an aspiring NFL player or actor Brandon Michael Hall, the star of the new hit show, God Friended Me? And let’s not forget about the value Pittsburgh got by selecting Layne in the third round—or one round later than many had him going. In my opinion, Layne could be the steal of the entire draft. Let’s move on to Benny Snell Jr., a running back out of Kentucky that Pittsburgh nabbed in the fourth round. Did you see Snell’s interview on Friday? What a smile. What charisma. And did you hear what he said? Did you hear him describe “Benny Snell football”? He mentioned things like “downhill running,” “four-minute offense” and “running out the clock.” To most Steeler fans, this is the equivalent of a woman getting flowers sent to her at work. In other words Anthony Chickillo Jersey , pure romance. No way will Snell get suspended for anything or make crappy rap songs. In my opinion, he’s the steal of the draft. Thanks to Gronk (the recently-retired Rob Gronkowski), I automatically assume every big, white tight end will be an athletic freak of nature that runs over defensive backs and outruns linebackers on the way to the end zone where he’ll then do an annoying touchdown celebration a la Travis Kelce. Therefore, Zach Gentry, a fifth-round pick out of Michigan, won’t be someone the Steelers try to hide on their roster or practice squad. The 6’8” rookie will quickly earn an awesome nickname, such as “The Not So Gentry Giant.” College production, be damned. In my opinion, Gentry is the steal of the draft. What about outside linebacker Sutton Smith, a sixth-round pick out of Northern Illinois? At 6’1” and 234 pounds, Smith doesn’t have the desired measurables for the position, but neither did James Harrison...if you know what I mean? With 29 sacks over his final two seasons at the collegiate level Mike Hilton Jersey , Smith’s resume is obviously quite impressive, and in my opinion, he is the steal of the draft. I could also go into great detail about the Steelers final three draft picks—Ulysees Gilbert III, Isaiah Buggsand Derwin Gray—but I don’t want to give you a cavity from all of this sweet love that I’ve been gushing about. This is the perfect time for the Steelers 2019 draft class. Everyone has potential. Everyone is humble and/or charismatic. Everyone shows promise.Everyone has hope for a brighter future. PITTSBURGH (AP) — A talented and mobile young quarterback tasked with taking over a playoff team from a veteran.Yeah, Pittsburgh Steelers star Ben Roethlisberger may know a little something about that.Still, the two-time Super Bowl winner’s eyes get a little wide when talking about Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes.Asked about his initial impressions of Mahomes — whom Roethlisberger and the Steelers (0-0-1) will get a close look at when Kansas City (1-0) visits Pittsburgh on Sunday — and the 36-year-old sounds impressed and a little wistful at the same time.“An amazing talent,” Roethlisberger said. “He’s got a big arm.”And big expectations too. Throwing for four touchdowns in your first season opener — as Mahomes did while lighting up the Chargers on the road in Week 1 — has a way of doing that.Now all he has to do for an encore is try to help Kansas City win in Pittsburgh for the first time since 1986, nearly a full decade before the 22-year-old was born.No pressure or anything, though Mahomes isn’t exactly concerned about carrying the weight of his team’s largely forgettable history against the Steelers.“It’s a brand new season,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that are hungry and want to get better every single week and this will be a great challenge in the early season to kind of get us going.”Pittsburgh has won seven of the past eight meetings, including a 19-13 victory at Arrowhead Stadium last October that put a pin in Kansas City’s 5-0 start while simultaneously igniting an eight-game winning streak that carried the Steelers to a second straight AFC North title.Pittsburgh entered that game needing a boost after getting throttled at home by Jacksonville. The Steelers could use another one after an ugly 21-all tie in Cleveland last week in which they turned it over six times and blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead.Playing well against Kansas City has rarely been an issue for the Steelers. Neither have home openers. Pittsburgh is 15-2 in season debuts at Heinz Field since moving from Three Rivers Stadium in 2001 and Roethlisberger — who spent part of the week dealing with an achy right elbow — tends to find another gear when in Pittsburgh’s home black jerseys. He’s averaging nearly three touchdown passes per game at Heinz Field since the start of 2014.Some things to look for as the Chiefs try to end a six-game losing streak in the Steel City while the Steelers try to avoid their worst start since they dropped their first four games in 2013, the last time they missed the playoffs.KING OF THE HILLKansas City wide receiver/punt returner Tyreek Hill piled up 269 total yards in Los Angeles, including a 53-yard catch-and-run touchdown and 91-yard punt return for a score that ended in similar fashion: with Hill flashing the “peace” sign as he traipsed into the end zone.Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt says older brother Derek — a fullback for the Chargers — offered a brief scouting report on Hill Joe Haden Jersey , who has 13 touchdowns of 50 yards or more in 32 games.“He said 10 (Hill) is fast,” Watt said. “I said ‘I already knew that.'”So does everyone else. Pittsburgh gave up plenty of big plays last season, allowing 13 passes of more than 40 yards, tied for third-highest in the league. The revamped secondary played well in Cleveland, but that was in the rain against an offense that doesn’t feature a player such as Hill.“He’s a human video game,” Pittsburgh linebacker Bud Dupree said. “We got to make sure he doesn’t make a lot of explosive plays that he always makes.”ENCORE, ENCOREPittsburgh will play without All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell for a second straight week while Bell continues to wait to sign his franchise tender. The Steelers hardly missed Bell in Cleveland. James Conner rolled up 192 total yards on 36 touches — both Bell-like totals — and scored twice .The goal now will be trying to replicate that kind of effectiveness again. And again. And again. Bell has been particularly effective against Kansas City, averaging 144 yards when facing the Chiefs.EB’s ABSENCEThe Chiefs will likely be without star safety Eric Berry for the second consecutive week. He tore his Achilles tendon last season and had returned for summer workouts, but he’s been out since the early part of training camp with soreness in his heel. “Just being cautious with it. It’s a long season,” Kansas City coach Andy Reid said. “That’s where we’re at.”SECOND WAVEThe Steelers relied heavily on wide receivers Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster in Cleveland. Help could be on the way Sunday. Tight end Vance McDonald — sidelined all of training camp with a foot injury — is expected to play. McDonald was productive when healthy in 2017 and caught 10 passes for 112 yards in a playoff loss to Jacksonville.