90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Broderick Jones, Damontae Kazee, Miles Killebrew

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2024 offseason workouts ended in mid-June. Next up is the team’s annual training camp, which begins at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe in late July. Leading up to the Steelers’ training camp, we’ll be doing a series of posts looking at the team’s offseason roster, three players at a time. This Steelers roster preview, which also includes projections for each player, will be sorted alphabetically by last name for easy followability. This series is expected to include more than 90 players this year, as the team will be able to bring a total of 91 players with them during the offseason due to the team’s international designation being allowed.

The next players we will feature before the Steelers’ 2024 training camp are Broderick Jones, Damontae Kazee and Miles Killebrew.

OT Broderick Jones: After being selected in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, the Georgia product began his rookie season as a backup tackle. However, in Week 9, Jones took over the starting right tackle position and never relinquished it, playing a total of 832 offensive snaps in the team’s only playoff game. Over 100 (122) of those offensive snaps came as left tackle due to injuries on the offensive line, and that was the primary position he played in college.

In total, Jones allowed five sacks and 34 pressure situations in 2023, according to Pro Football Focus. He also received two penalties as a rookie. PFF rated Jones 57.3 points this season and only achieved a grade of 47.6 as a pass blocker.

Outlook: Jones obviously has a lot of room for improvement and it will be interesting to see if he moves to left tackle permanently when the regular season begins. He will likely become the Steelers’ starting left tackle at some point and it’s only a matter of time before that happens.

Jones will need to work on becoming a much better pass protector in his second NFL season after struggling a bit in that part of his game as a rookie. As for his run blocking, Jones had some dominant snaps during that phase as a rookie. Now he just needs to show more of that in 2024. The Steelers will likely look to run the ball even more in 2024, and so Jones will need to do his part as a tackle to ensure the offense is successful during that phase.

Jones is only 23 years old and came out of college without much playing time compared to other tackles in his draft class, totaling just 1,396 offensive snaps. Because of that, he’s expected to improve in all areas of his game in his second NFL season, especially now that he has a better understanding of what offensive line coach Pat Meyer is teaching.

S Damontae Kazee: The 2023 season was Kazee’s second in Pittsburgh after signing a two-year contract extension earlier in the offseason. He ultimately played in 14 regular-season games, including nine starts. However, Kazee was suspended by the NFL for the final three games of the regular season for a dangerous hit on Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman in Week 15. After an appeal, the NFL ruled that Kazee could return for the playoffs, and so he appeared in that only postseason game for the Steelers.

In total, Kazee played 791 defensive snaps in 2023, including the only playoff game. He also played 123 more snaps on special teams in 2023. Most of Kazee’s defensive snaps in 2023 were free safeties, likely due to starting S Minkah Fitzpatrick missing several games due to injury.

Outlook: Now that Kazee has played nearly two full seasons with the Steelers, he is expected to be a primary backup safety in 2024, as the team signed veteran S DeShon Elliott during free agency. Elliott and Fitzpatrick are expected to be the team’s two starting safeties in 2024, while Kazee will likely be the primary backup to both of them.

While Kazee likely won’t start in 2024, he could still receive weekly defensive snaps as part of a dime package that requires three safeties to be on the field. Kazee should be able to move around in the secondary, including occasional use in the slot. Should Kazee need to play anywhere near as many defensive snaps in 2024 as he did in 2023, such volume would likely be due to an injury or two to the starters. As a backup defensive back, Kazee will also likely play some time on special teams in 2024.

Kazee has recorded two interceptions in each of his last three NFL seasons. It would be great if he could match that number again in 2024 as a backup and sub-package player. Kazee, now 31, is set to make $3 million in 2024, the final year of his contract.

S Miles Killebrew: The Steelers re-signed Killebrew to a two-year, $6.5 million deal shortly after the start of the 2024 NFL year in March. Now, the special teams demon is returning to Pittsburgh for a fourth season after playing his first five seasons with the Detroit Lions. Last season, including the team’s only playoff game, Killebrew played 335 special teams snaps and 111 more on defense – the most he’s played on that side of the football in Pittsburgh.

During the 2023 regular season, Killebrew recorded 13 special teams tackles, leading the team in that statistical category. The Steelers’ special teams captain also had a punt block in 2023. Defensively, Killebrew recorded 13 total tackles in 2023, including one for a loss. In his limited playing time on defense, he also recorded a quarterback hit.

Outlook: While Killebrew can play multiple positions on the Steelers’ defense, that’s not his strength, and barring injury or special situations, it’s unlikely he’ll match the defensive production he put up in 2023 in 2024. Killebrew’s niche in the NFL is that of a special teams player, so he’ll likely captain that unit again in 2024 and be a core player in that phase of the game.

Killebrew has a knack for being a consistent team leader in special teams tackles, and that should be the case again in 2024. He also has a knack for blocking punts, so it would be surprising if he doesn’t have at least one of those this coming season. Every team needs a player like Killebrew, who was a Pro Bowler and first-team All-Pro selection for the first time in his career last season. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him earn both awards again in 2024.

Previous posts in this series:

90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview series – Montravius ​​Adams, Kyle Allen, Spencer Anderson
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Grayland Arnold, Calvin Austin III, Anthony Averett
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Kalon Barnes, Tyler Beach, Keeanu Benton
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Beanie Bishop Jr., Chris Boswell, Marquez Callaway
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Jack Colletto, Dylan Cook, Jacob Copeland
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview series – James Daniels, Daijun Edwards, DeShon Elliott
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Jalen Elliott, Troy Fautanu, Breiden Fehoko
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Justin Fields, Joey Fisher, Dez Fitzpatrick
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Minkah Fitzpatrick, Zach Frazier, Pat Freiermuth
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Thomas Graham Jr., Devery Hamilton, Anderson Hardy
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview series – Najee Harris, Nate Herbig, Nick Herbig
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Cameron Heyward, Connor Heyward, Alex Highsmith
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Cole Holcomb, Donte Jackson, Van Jefferson
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Jaray Jenkins, Kyron Johnson, Cameron Johnston