Pittsburgh Steelers training camp is officially in the books. After three weeks in Latrobe and a preseason Week 1 matchup against the Green Bay Packers, there’s plenty to unpack about the state of the 2026 Steelers under new coach Mike McCarthy. From the coaching staff’s attention to detail to mounting secondary injuries and some ugly penalty numbers, here is a full breakdown of what stood out during camp.

The good: practice structure, quarterback development, and a hands-on coaching staff

The minute you arrive at a practice in Latrobe, you can tell Mike Tomlin is no longer the head coach. That’s no shot at Tomlin. Every coach has a different way of doing things, but McCarthy’s way is all about efficiency. The way practice is structured, the way periods transition, the fact that they incorporate elements as specific as TV timeouts and the transition to 2-minute drill simulations shows a level of attention to fine details that is second to none.

A whole new era of Steelers football is underway. Some worried about the physicality, the lack of live tackling during camp, but preseason Week 1 told a different story. There were very few missed tackles on that field against Green Bay. That was a strong sign for Pittsburgh.

The quarterback development deserves its own spotlight. Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, and Drew Allar all looked phenomenal against the Packers. Starter Aaron Rodgers didn’t even play, and he’s the guy who has been in this system for over a decade going back to his time with McCarthy in Green Bay. So the poise that players like Howard and Allar showed in their preseason debuts, their first time putting on a Steelers jersey against another team, spoke volumes about the confidence McCarthy has instilled in his quarterbacks.

A lot of that traces back to the hands-on approach. You watch McCarthy in between reps out in Latrobe, and he’s got the walkie-talkie; he’s going up to his quarterbacks, he’s talking about what he sees from the defense, what he’s going to do on his call sheet. The same goes for the defensive side of the ball. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham gets out there and mixes it up with his players in the middle of drills, showing them how to tackle, showing them exactly what he wants. Everything good about this training camp really comes from that coaching staff.

The bad: miscommunication and a banged-up secondary

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows. There was a lot of miscommunication during camp. There were times when McCarthy would slam his call sheet down, when Rodgers would get visibly frustrated with a wide receiver, when a rookie quarterback would make a mistake, or when there would be a false start on the offensive line. Some of that carried into preseason Week 1, but it showed up more frequently in Latrobe.

The truth is, it’s not good. But am I worried about it? Not really. This is a new offense. These are players learning a new scheme for the first time in their careers, largely outside of Rodgers. Growing pains are expected.

The mounting injuries in the secondary, however, are a different story. Joey Porter Jr.’s status remains unclear, with questions about whether he’s dealing with a back issue or holding out for a new contract. Jalen Ramsey still hasn’t returned, Jaquan Brisker has been dealing with an injury, DeShon Elliott has been down, and cornerback Donte Kent has also been out. The secondary is very thin right now. The Steelers don’t play a regular-season game for another three weeks or so, but these are valuable reps. This is the ramp-up period where you want to see players getting into football shape. That simply isn’t happening for too many defensive backs, and it has to be addressed.

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The ugly: Kaleb Johnson’s future, penalties, and offensive tackle play

The downright ugly starts with running back Kaleb Johnson’s situation. He played only 5 preseason snaps in Week 1, and on Sunday’s final practice of training camp, he was taking reps with the sixth team. Five backs lined up in front of him. Despite McCarthy saying earlier in the offseason that it would be a fresh start, a new year, a new regime for Johnson, it doesn’t look good.

The penalties in preseason Week 1 were also unacceptable. Pittsburgh racked up over 100 yards in penalties, many of them on special teams, where a new coordinator has taken over after longtime special teams coordinator Danny Smith left for Tampa Bay.

Then there’s the offensive tackle play. Troy Fautanu and Dylan Cook, the projected starting tackles, with Max Iheanachor likely to miss significant time or at least not win the starting job, both struggled in their first preseason game. I’m going to call it knocking the cobwebs off and leave it at that for now.

The coaching infrastructure and quarterback development give real reason for optimism, but the secondary health and penalty issues need real solutions before the regular season arrives.