show rookies could have significant role in 2018 There used to be a time when a rookie drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers Kevin Greene Jersey , especially on defense, knew they would essentially have a red-shirt year where all they would do is contribute on special teams. After all, unless your name was Ben Roethlisberger, you knew you would have to wait your turn. Some of the greatest players of the modern era to wear the black-and-gold had to wait. Troy Polamalu, James Harrison, Hines Ward, Brett Keisel...all had to pay their dues before getting their shot. After the Steelers’ Week 1 tie with the Cleveland Browns, I wanted to take a look at the snap counts to get a feel for how the coaching staff was utilizing the rookies on the team. In recent years Lynn Swann Jersey , rookies have been infused into the lineup more than ever under Mike Tomlin, and this year was no different. The big name of the group was Terrell Edmunds. The first round safety didn’t just start the game at Strong Safety, but logged 74 of 89 defensive snaps. This total was second only to Sean Davis who played in all 89 plays. Edmunds’ totals compared to other safeties were as follows:Sean Davis — 89Terrell Edmunds — 74Morgan Burnett — 40Jordan Dangerfield — 0Whether you believe Edmunds is ready for this heavy of a workload or not, the Steelers’ coaching staff trusted him enough to be the starter in the deep half of the secondary. Edmunds wasn’t the only rookie who saw the field in Week 1. Chukwuma Okorafor, the third round offensive tackle out of Western Michigan, was used as the swing tackle, as well as the extra tackle/tight end in ‘Jumbo’ packages to help run the football. ‘Chuks’ played in 17 offensive snaps, out of a possible 84. Fellow rookie James Washington Bud Dupree Jersey , second round wide receiver out of Oklahoma State, saw the field the least amount of the three, notching just 11 snaps, with zero targets or receptions, to his young NFL resume. Fans of Washington were disappointed with the lack of his playing time, compared to that of Justin Hunter, who registered 51 offensive snaps on the day, but should be reminded how Washington is likely following the JuJu Smith-Schuster plan. Last year Smith-Schuster didn’t start to see significant reps early in the season either. Rather David DeCastro Jersey , they eased him into the role. I can only imagine the team is following suit in this regard.Either way, this trio of rookies are doing work in one way or another this season, and all will be called upon to fill a role at one point or another. The hope is Edmunds continues to solidify his starting role with the team, but Okorafor playing significant snaps means an injury to a starter, so filling his role as a backup is just fine for his rookie season. I think we all can envision a time when Washington outshines Hunter and earns his spot within the offense. Check out the full Snap Totals below, or by clicking HERE: The Steelers own 10 picks in this year’s draft after dealing wide receiver Antonio Brown and tackle Marcus Gilbert this offseason and some might wonder if that will make them likelier to package some picks in order to move up the board for a player they covet in April.General Manager Kevin Colbert fielded that question during a Sunday session with reporters from the league meetings and predictably did not rule out anything with the draft a month away. He also pointed out trades to move up in the first round that netted safety Troy Polamalu and wide receiver Santonio Holmes as signs of the Steelers’ willingness to pull the trigger when the moment suits them.Colbert also provided the flip side of that by pointing out that a late pick thrown into a package could turn out to be a player as valuable as Brown.“Anytime you’re talking about trading draft picks, I never just use, it’s a three and a six Darrius Heyward-Bey Jersey , because that six might be Antonio Brown,” Colbert said, via the team’s website. “You say, just throw in a seventh. Well, that seventh might have been Brett Keisel. So you never just want to say, it’s a pick. You try to associate a player you could get with those picks. And you go back in history and look at what you got with certain picks, but then you also project who you might be turning away from in a given draft.”The Steelers have two picks in the third round and three in the sixth along with one selection in each of the other five rounds.