Almost half of the '14 draft class is gone

We’re only 16 months removed from the 2014 draft and almost half of the Steelers draft class is gone. Sixth-round pick Jordan Zumwalt is the latest casualty. The second-year linebacker was waived yesterday when the Steelers signed journeyman linebacker L.J. Fort.

Zumwalt is the second member of the draft class to get cut this summer. The Steelers waived former seventh-round tight end Rob Blanchflower a couple of weeks ago.

The Steelers cut fifth-round Shaquille Richardson last summer and signed him to their practice squad, but he was released from the practice squad too early in the season. Wesley Johnson, another fifth-round pick, made the 53-man roster initially last year, but he was released early last fall and picked up by the New York Jets.

The remaining draft picks from 2014 are: Ryan Shazier, Stephon Tuitt, Dri Archer, Martavis Bryant and Daniel McCullers.

The most accomplished of that group is Bryant, the speedy receiver who burst onto the scene in the second half of last season. He is expected to be a major part of the offense in his second season.

Shazier and Tuitt are penciled in as starters and Archer and McCullers are reserves.

For comparison’s sake, six of the nine draft picks from 2013 remain on the roster. Four of the nine remain from 2012.

*The Steelers liked Zumwalt enough to keep him on their injured reserve last season, but another injury this summer forced the Steelers to waive him yesterday. He didn’t have much of a shot to make the team anyway because of the depth the Steelers have at inside linebacker.

Zumwalt was released to make room for Fort because the Steelers need bodies for training camp. Lawrence Timmons and Vince Williams are currently out with injuries and won’t play Sunday against the Packers.

Zumwalt played in both preseason games this summer, but he missed practice time with an undisclosed injury and was noticeably hobbled. I had an idea this spring that Zumwalt was not completely healed from offseason groin surgery. He was evasive about the injury and did not want to discuss how it was coming along. That usually happens when players are concerned about their future in the sport.

*Archer is a lock to make the team again this year, but if he doesn’t show something he could be the next player from the ’14 draft class to be shown the door.

*The Steelers are seeing how versatile Alejandro Villanueva can be this week, and that’s probably not a good sign for Mike Adams. Villanueva spent the first three weeks of cap at left tackle. This week they are trying him on the right side to make sure he feels comfortable there. They even installed a play for him on the goal line yesterday when he reported as a tackle eligible, then split out for a fade pattern.

If Villanueva is going to be the third tackle, he’ll be active on game days and he’ll have to be able to back up both left tackle Kelvin Beachum and right tackle Marcus Gilbert. And why not try to get the most out of a former college tight end and receiver in goal line packages?

The pass from Roethlisberger fell incomplete, but you can see the Steelers are thinking ahead in the event that Adams cannot return from back surgery. I asked Tomlin for an update on Adams earlier this week. He said he did not have one.

Adams was expected to miss four weeks, but it looks like he could start the season on the PUP list. If that’s the case he could not return until after the sixth game. Adams appears to have lost weight and walks gingerly around the Saint Vincent campus.

*Coach Mike Tomlin said he liked the “spirited” practice on Wednesday. He asked the players before practice to give a better effort than last Wednesday’s practice, which also came after a scheduled off day. The players got the message and heeded their coach’s advice.

Rookie outside linebacker might have been a little too spirited. He got into two fights with the offensive line. After the second one he was tossed out of a drill by Tomlin because he could not be calmed down.

While training camp fights are common it is uncommon for a player to act in the manner Dupree did. Veteran leaders such as James Harrison, Cameron Heyward and Antonio Brown were unsuccessful in getting through to Dupree.

A short time later Brown was visibly upset in another drill and had a confrontation with receivers coach Richard Mann. He had been complaining about not getting enough passes earlier in practice.

It’s that time of camp. Two more days at Saint Vincent before the Steelers break camp and return to the South Side. It’s probably a good thing for everyone.