90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Julius Welschof, Rodney Williams, Payton Wilson

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 Julius Welschof, Rodney Williams and Payton Wilson.

OLB Julius Welschof: The Steelers signed Welschof as an undrafted free agent. As a native of Germany, he received a spot on the international squad as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program. The Calgary Stampeders also selected him in the second round of the 2024 CFL Global Draft. Welschof played college football for the Michigan Wolverines and Charlotte 49ers.

During his college career, his final season at Charlotte, Welschof recorded 29 total tackles, one for loss, one sack and one pass defensed. At his 2024 Pro Day, Welschof weighed 6065 pounds, had 32 1/4-inch arms and 10 1/4-inch hands. He reportedly ran his 40-yard dash in 4.82 seconds, his short shuttle time was 4.40 seconds and his three-cone drill time was 7.01 seconds.

Outlook: Since Welschof is an International Pathway Program player, he can easily remain on the practice squad for the entire 2024 season. The Steelers view him as an outside linebacker in their scheme, so he will play that position throughout training camp and the preseason. It will be interesting to see how many snaps he ends up getting in preseason games. It won’t be many, though.

While Welschof will be interesting to keep an eye on for the rest of the summer, there’s no way he’ll be on the Steelers’ 53-man roster in 2024. His goal for 2024 is to show he has what it takes to play in the NFL and potentially compete for more than a practice squad spot next summer.

TE Rodney Williams: After failing to make the Steelers’ 53-man roster in the preseason last year, Williams began the 2023 regular season on the team’s practice squad. However, Williams was promoted from the practice squad to the 53-man roster in early October and remained on it for the remainder of the season as a backup tight end and special teams player.

Last season, including the Steelers’ only playoff game, Williams appeared in 57 offensive snaps, most of them as an in-line tight end, and also appeared in 205 special teams snaps.

Overall, Williams didn’t put up any statistics on offense last season. However, he did record six total special teams tackles in 2023. When he was called upon to block in his limited offensive playing time in 2023, Williams was slightly above average in that phase of his game, only being on the field for 40 running plays.

Williams began his NFL career in 2022 with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent out of UT Martin, where he played some time as a wide receiver. After being released by the Broncos following the end of the 2022 preseason, Williams spent almost the entire subsequent regular season on the Steelers’ practice squad.

Outlook: This year’s training camp will be exciting for Williams, especially with Arthur Smith now installed as the Steelers’ new offensive coordinator. With Smith now in charge, the Steelers will likely use two or three tight end groups quite often. Because of this, the Steelers could have four tight ends on their 53-man roster this year. Since Williams has a good resume on special teams, this should benefit his 53-man roster.

While Williams isn’t a top-tier blocking tight end, he could see some improvement in that phase of his game this summer. If that happens, that will help him as well. His biggest competition this summer could be new tight end MyCole Pruitt, a veteran who previously played for Smith. However, Pruitt is much older than Williams.

While Williams is certainly not a sure thing to make the 53-man roster at the start of the 2024 regular season, he still has a good chance. If he stays healthy throughout the summer and can show enough as a special teamer, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him survive the final round of roster cuts. If Williams ultimately doesn’t make the 53-man roster, there’s a very strong chance he’ll begin the 2024 regular season back on the Steelers’ practice squad.

ILB Payton Wilson: The Steelers selected Wilson in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft out of North Carolina State, and he was the 98th overall pick this year. Wilson was considered one of the best off-the-ball linebackers in this year’s draft class, but likely slipped a bit due to his injury history, including knee and shoulder injuries.

During his college career, Wilson recorded 402 total tackles, 48 ​​for loss, 15 sacks, seven interceptions, 13 passes defensed, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. His 2023 season was stellar, including Wilson recording 138 total tackles, 17.5 for loss, six sacks, three interceptions, six passes defensed, two fumble recoveries, and one forced fumble.

Wilson, who was invited to the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, weighed 6,037 pounds at the annual event, had 30 1/2-inch arms and 9-inch hands. He reportedly ran his 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds. His pro day short shuttle time was 4.20 seconds and his three-cone time was 6.85 seconds. Prior to the Combine, Wilson participated in the 2024 Senior Bowl.

In 2023, Wilson received the Butkus Award, which is given annually to the best linebacker in college football.

Outlook: Going into training camp now, it’s not hard to be excited about Wilson’s future. He doesn’t see his past injuries as a problem for the start of his NFL career. Wilson showed no signs of his past injuries in his final two seasons at North Carolina State. His speed and change of direction were very evident on tape, and he made a lot of key plays, some even in coverage.

Wilson was everywhere in college. Although he was basically an off-the-ball linebacker, he was asked to pressure opposing quarterbacks from the outside quite often in college. He even occasionally covered opposing players on defense from the slot position. He is also a very smart player and reads plays well.

For 2024, Wilson should be on the team’s 53-man roster as a backup inside linebacker. He should also begin the 2024 regular season as a core special teams player. At some point during his rookie season, Wilson should see some defensive snaps in some sub packages. Over the course of the 2024 regular season, his role on defense could gradually grow. In short, Wilson can be expected to make rapid progress, and it would not be surprising to see him play at least 200 defensive snaps by the end of his rookie season. Possibly even more.

If Wilson stays healthy, the Steelers may have gotten a steal in the 2024 NFL Draft. He likely would have been a first-round pick this year if not for injury concerns from several teams. Watch for this kid 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
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Broderick Jones, Damontae Kazee, Miles Killebrew
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Christian Kuntz, DeMarvin Leal, Logan Lee
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview series – Isaiahh Loudermilk, Dean Lowry, Jonathan Marshall
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Ryan McCollum, Mason McCormick, Nate Meadors
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview series – Scotty Miller, Jeremiah Moon, Dan Moore Jr.
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Tyler Murray, Larry Ogunjobi, Cordarrelle Patterson
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – David Perales, La’Mical Perine, George Pickens
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Joey Porter Jr., Willington Previlon, MyCole Pruitt
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview series – Patrick Queen, John Rhys Plumlee, Elandon Roberts
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Mark Robinson, Darius Rush, Josiah Scott
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Isaac Seumalo, Aaron Shampklin, Jacob Slade
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Cameron Sutton, Cory Trice Jr., Jonathan Ward
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Jaylen Warren, Darnell Washington, Quez Watkins
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview series – TJ Watt, Duece Watts, Ryan Watts