Beyond Allar/Howard, other Steelers standouts

PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Beyond Will Howard and Drew Allar making their debuts, there were other stories from the Steelers preseason opening win over Green Bay Thursday night.

Mason Rudolph

The 31-year-old got the start with Aaron Rodgers not playing and while not scoring, finished 10 of 11 for 93 yards with no turnovers. He was sacked on his second play and again on his fourth, but would lead a second drive back to the Packers one-yard line as Pat Freiermuth was stopped short on a fourth down pass.

Rudolph would have had the play of the night if only Germie Bernard had two more inches of green. It was on third and goal from the Packers three-yard line and as Rudolph scrambled to avoid pressure, shrugged off a defender, he stepped up in the pocket and found the rookie in the back of the end zone. Bernard got the one foot down, but just barely missed on getting the other as it was just out of bounds.

“Just a lot of work with Coach McCarthy and getting a feel for how he thinks and what he favorites are,” Rudolph said. “We all sat down and had an individual meeting with our favorites on the game plan. He was very open to what we like and called what we like.”

Wetjen explosion

It’s nearly impossible to simulate full live in kick returns in camp practice, especially with no live tackling, there hasn’t been much to see from rookie returner Kaden Wetjen. With the top two receivers out, Wetjen got some receiver reps and exploded.

He took a simple in route from Drew Allar and added 64 yards after catch outrunning all but one defender who was downfield and had an angle on him. He would later catch a five-yard touchdown.

In three years of college football, Wetjen had 197 career receiving yards. The fourth-round pick had 79 in his first pro preseason game Thursday.

Germie Bernard

You could count on one hand how many reps second-round receiver Germie Bernard got with the first team since training camp opened. With DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman out, Bernard looked poised and comfortable finishing with four catches for 51 yards on five targets.

“Whenever they throw the ball to me was making the most of the opportunities,” Bernard said. “Done it a thousand times in practice, now it’s about translating it to the game.”

“I thought Germ in there with the first group, he didn’t blink at all,” Rudolph said. “In the words of a guy I used to know, he didn’t blink. The moment was not too big and he made a lot of people miss.”

Lew Nichols

Spending most of last season on the practice squad, running back Lew Nichols was the leading rusher with 10 carries for 36 yards and a touchdown. Nichols can play special teams and also be used in pass protection. He’s part of the battle for a third running back spot with veteran Travis Homer, 2025 third-round pick Kaleb Johnson and seventh-round pick Eli Heidenreich.

Homer had four carries for eight yards, Johnson two for three yards, Heidenreich nine for 21 yards.

The other tight end

Not much was made when Robert Tonyan signed with the Steelers late, but he showed up in the Saturday Night Lights practice and again in the first preseason game, like he has much of camp. He’s 6’5”, 240 pounds but moves well down the field. The 32-year-old was inches from a touchdown and had four receptions on four targets for 61 yards against his old team, Green Bay.

“Life comes full circle and I think it’s a good situation, great locker room and I’m excited to be a part of it,” Tonyan said.”

“I think Bobby is a hell of a football player, man,” Howard said. “It's crazy that Green Bay let him walk, but I'm thankful that he's here because, you know, he can still play like he did in 2020 with Aaron and 2021. He's a great piece to have around here.”

“Obviously, we already have Pat (Freiermuth), and Darnell (Washington), but to have a third guy like that in the room is huge. He kind of turned into my go-to guy tonight, which was great.”

New LB

A former Commanders first-round pick out of Kentucky, Jamin Davis was the Steelers leading tackler with eight and sacker with two, he added another tackle for loss and accounted for 24.5 gained yards by the defense. He’s 6’4”, 234 pounds and, like Nick Herbig, from Hawaii.

Last year he bounced around on-and-off the active roster and practice squad with new Steelers defensive coordinator Patrick Graham with Las Vegas. He’s currently listed as a third-string outside linebacker.

We will do a separate story on Gabe Rubio, the rookie who has really flashed out of nowhere.