SCB Steelers 2015 Training Camp Battle Reports: Tight Ends

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Like many positions on the Steelers’ Offense, the drama is not to be found with who the starter is at tight end but rather with who backs up the starter.

Starter: Heath Miller

Since he was drafted in 2005, Heath Miller has been a mainstay at the tight end position for the Steelers. A fan favorite of many, including yours truly, Miller is without question an all-time Steelers’ great but he is nearing his end.

It’s a bitter, but realistic pill we must swallow. I believe he can still be the security blanket Ben Roethlisberger relies on but I also think his skills are now declining a bit. Look for 50 receptions or so this year which would be his lowest since he had just 42 receptions in 2010.

Don’t get me wrong, he will still be a guy that has to be accounted for by defenses. To what extent I don’t know.

Back-Up: Matt Speath

As many of you know, I’m not a fan of ’12’ personnel when it comes to the Steelers’ offense. What that means is ‘1’ running back and ‘2’ tight ends. I much prefer when Todd Haley goes with ’11’ which is ‘1’ running back and ‘1’ tight end.

That said, Haley has had an infatuation for sometime with multiple tight end sets and whenever Miller is given a buddy, it’s in the company of Matt Spaeth. Last season, Spaeth had three receptions including one for a touchdown. In other words, he isn’t much of a receiving threat and that concerns me.

If Miller should miss any time whatsoever, then the Steelers’ offense would not be as potent. Because of Mike Tomlin’s love of veterans and Haley’s love of extra tight ends, Spaeth has become an important member of the team to them. This is why he is the back-up.

Third Tight End: Jesse James

James was drafted this past spring and is much more of a clone of Matt Spaeth than he is Heath Miller. He and Spaeth are almost the exact same height and weight, although I’ll give James a slight advantage in receiving ability.

Some are thinking that James could be the long-term replacement for Miller once he retires but I need to be sold on that before I can agree. James will work hard and he’ll be a solid third option, but he will also be challenged by the guys below.

Challengers: Michael Egnew, Cameron Clear, Rob Blanchflower

Blanchflower was a seventh round pick in 2014 and a guy I really liked. He suffered through injuries that started in training camp and that left him on the practice squad. If he cannot stay healthy, he’s going to be a casualty simply because both Egnew and Clear are capable players.

Clear is a rookie free agent from Texas A&M who the Steelers liked prior to the draft. He’s a load 6’5″ 277 lbs but caught just nine balls in 24 career games for the Aggies. The Steelers view him as a guy with potential but mostly as a blocker.

Egnew graduated from Missouri in 2011 where over his last two seasons he collected 140 receptions. Since then, he has played in just 18 pro games all of which were with the Dolphins. Obviously, he’ll be much more of a receiving threat from the tight end position than Clear.

The Steelers have been known to go with four tight ends and if they do, don’t be surprised to see Clear be that fourth guy. If there are injury problems however with Miller (God forbid), then that opens the door for Blanchflower and Egnew.

 

3 COMMENTS

  1. My problem with tight end is why are we carrying so many?? If i’m not mistaken last season by the middle of the year we had 1 true RB, 8 o-lineman and 5 TE’s. I think a more balanced roster would contain 3TE’s, 2true RB’s and 9 O-lineman. With perhaps some more rotations in regards to playing time. Having the entire core of your offense playing the entire isn’t very smart.

  2. I see what you’re getting at bob but what happens if Spaeth or Miller get Hurt during the game and the Steelers want to use the 3 TE personnel to run the ball or make throw out of that grouping just as a change up and you only have 3 TE’s for the whole game then what. To me I’m going to wait after the “3rd ” preseason game vs the Packers to disclose my projections of the 53 man roster even though 90% of all NFL 53 man rosters are set in stone still it’s fun to project the final roster for us as fans anyway.

    • I gave a post OTA roster projection which means a lot of the depth guys are pure speculation because until we get a few weeks into camp we just won’t know enough. We’ll certainly have another projection before the season. As far as the tight ends go, unless someone really makes huge strides in the receiving department, Heath Miller just can’t get injured it’s that simple. There are no proven threats behind him.

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