McCullers shows his strength

Mike Tomlin called Daniel McCullers a project when the Steelers selected him in the sixth round of the NFL draft in May. The fact that McCullers is 6 feet 7, weighs 352 pounds and possesses unusual athleticism for a man his size suggests Tomlin’s comment had as much to do with motivation and attitude as it did teaching the former Tennessee Volunteer proper technique.

McCullers showed off some of his natural abilities Wednesday afternoon during a one-on-one pass rush drill against one of the Steelers’ best offensive linemen.

McCullers was matched up against right guard David DeCastro and McCullers drove him into the backfield and almost knocked him over. It was an impressive show of strength and technique. McCullers got his hands inside of DeCastro’s framework and rendered the 6-5, 316-pound DeCastro helpless.

Perhaps the most impressive part of the manhandling was DeCastro had been almost perfect in one-on-one pass rush drill the first few days of camp against other defensive linemen. DeCastro was one of the better guards in the league last season and a rookie had his way with him.

Now it’s up to that rookie to play with consistency. In that regard, the jury remains out.

*The Steelers haven’t had a jersey retirement ceremony in 50 years, but expect a large contingent of former players to return to Heinz Field for the Nov. 2 game against the Ravens to honor the “Mean” Joe Greene. Team chairman Dan Rooney said he expects a number of former players to be in attendance. Here is what Greene had to say about his teammates from the 1970s and ‘80s. “These guys are special. I would not be surprised to see a gang of them there.”

*Count ESPN analyst Herm Edwards among those on the Steelers’ bandwagon: “I am picking them to win their division,” Edwards told me yesterday. “I look at how they came through at the end of last season. That’s important. I look at their division record. They were 4-2, the best record in that division last season. Not a lot of people realize that. To me, it’s all about the division.”

So there you go, pack your suitcases for Glendale.

*The best nickname of training camp belongs to undrafted free agent center Chris Elkins, who was dubbed Chicken Nugget by Maurkice Pouncey. Elkins, who played at Division I-AA Youngstown State, is generously listed at 6-4, 300 in the team’s media guide. He is two inches shorter; thus the Chicken Nugget nickname. The Beaver Falls native has had a strong first few days of camp, especially in one-on-one pass blocking drills against defensive linemen.

*The Steelers practice today at 2:55 p.m. They will hold their annual night practice at Latrobe Memorial Stadium on Friday.