Steelers Morning Huddle 4/3/14

Aug 19, 2013; Landover, MD, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers players huddle during the first half against the Washington Redskins at FedEX Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

The past month has been much busier than Steelers fans have been accustomed to in March.  The Steelers front office has also busier than many fans and analysts expected in the past month.  More moves means more articles, and here are a couple to get you through the last day before Friday.

Steelers Who Will See Expanded Roles

I once again bring you the weekly Curt Popejoy article.  This time he broke down 5 Steelers who he expects to receive more playing time in 2014 and gives their games played and started for the 2013 season.  The list was made up of Cam Heyward(16 games,13 starts), Jarvis Jones(14, 8), Markus Wheaton(12, 1), Shamarko Thomas(14, 2), and Cortez Allen(14, 8).  It’s hard to argue with any of these picks except for Shamarko Thomas.  The reason I list Thomas as the outlier is because of the Mike Mitchell signing.  Mitchell is seemingly entrenched as the full time starting free safety and while Troy Polamalu may be getting old, he had one of the best seasons of his career last year and also received a contract extension this offseason.  I wouldn’t expect Thomas to be any more than a situational player and special teams ace.

Steelers Pre-Draft Visits

ESPN’s Scott Brown once again brings us some valuable news in the form of pre-draft prospect visits.  As he points out, the Steelers are allowed to host 30 prospects for pre-draft visits.  Darqueze Dennard, Donte Moncrief, Stephon Tuitt, and Lache Seastrunk are among the 30 that made the cut.  To be honest, I just don’t see the point in bringing in Seastrunk and Dennard in for visits.  After trading for LeGarrette Blount, running back should be a late round priority and Seastrunk will surely be gone by then.  As for Dennard, while cornerback is a need, I don’t think he is worthy of a first round pick and he likely won’t be available when the Steelers pick in the second round.

What do you think Steelers nation?  Who else will see expanded roles this season?  Who else will the Steelers bring in for a visit?  Leave your thoughts in the comment section.