The Pittsburgh Steelers used the first of their two seventh-round picks to select linebacker Carson Bruener. Of course, the Steelers do love their family ties, as they said on their official X account when announcing the selection. Bruener is the son of former tight end and current scout Mark Bruener, so that connection likely had a major impact on the decision to draft him. Family relations or not, Pittsburgh is still expecting its son to produce however he is asked to at the NFL level.
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Smith spoke about the new draft pick and what they can expect out of him.
"[Carson Bruener] is a four-phase guy: punt, punt return, kickoff, kickoff return," said Smith. "He's big, he's strong, he's fast, he's relentless. He should be a good player."
Clearly, the Steelers are not expecting Bruener to actually play inside linebacker. They do have four capable players that can rotate in those spots currently, so it's not like that was a position of need. Smith talking about him was the first indicator that the seventh-rounder will be expected to be a special teams ace. The team loves focusing on that phase of the game, and selecting the linebacker from the Washington Huskies only reinforced that.
This pick is likely made to be a direct replacement for Tyler Matakevich, who is a current free agent. Matakevich was a former seventh-round pick as well, and he has made a living off of being an ace on special teams who can play in every faction of that phase. Instead of giving him $2 million to stay, the Steelers bring in the younger, cheaper option to fill his shoes.
Instead of trying to find another rotation piece for either the offense or defense, the Steelers continue to load up on aces. It's definitely an odd thing to put lots of time and effort into doing, but that's why they keep leading the league in blocked punts, while very rarely ever having their kicks blocked. They continue on with that trend, and they could easily keep going down that road with some late free agent signings.
In fact, their last pick of the 2025 draft was used on Donte Kent, a cornerback who excelled as a punt returner in college. That means the Steelers used both of their seventh-round picks to put an emphasis on special teams, and they did so in different ways. Who knows if Kent can beat out the likes of Calvin Austin III for that spot, but now there is some more competition for returners. Maybe he can also be a gunner for punts and kickoffs.
Steelers' recent focus on special teams
Miles Killebrew has been seen as one of the best special-teams players in the NFL for a few years now. Nearly every NFL team has fewer blocked punts than he does individually since he was signed by Pittsburgh. He has had very few snaps at safety, as that is nowhere near his strong suit. He is, as Smith would say, however, a "four-phase guy" who can make an impact in all of them.
In the 2024 NFL Draft, the Steelers drafted defensive tackle Logan Lee. While he missed his whole rookie season due to injury, there were some rumors that he was specifically selected to aid with special teams as well. He would be primarily used to block field goals. As long as he stays healthy for 2025, it will be known if that was why he was selected then or not.
There is a long line of great special teamers in the Steelers' recent history, and now they expect Bruener to add his name to the list. It would not be surprising to see him bursting through on a punt to block the kick or blocking a player to set up a big punt return. Either way, he has a high standard to live up to.
