The Pittsburgh Steelers will be holding their annual rookie minicamp next weekend and while it’s obvious that most eyes will be on the eight new draft picks and 12 undrafted free agents, there’s one player that will be participating that I hope we get an update or two on.
That one player is Alejandro Villanueva, who will be beginning his second season with the team as a tackle.
By now, you all are probably fully aware of who Villanueva is being as he’s received his share of press after being signed to the team’s practice squad last year just prior to the start of the regular-season after he was released by the Philadelphia Eagles.
At 6-9, Villanueva, a former Army captain, has the perfect size to dominate at left tackle at the NFL level as he also reportedly now weighs well over 300 pounds. When he was signed by the Eagles last offseason, he was initially worked on the other side of the football at defensive end. While he did play tackle at Army, it was several years ago and during his sophomore season.
Being as Villanueva is already 26-years-old, this upcoming offseason could very well wind up being his last one with the Steelers should he fail to make their final 53 man roster out of training camp. At the very least, he should get every opportunity to do just that being as he’ll have a full training camp and potentially five preseason games to show what he’s learned from offensive line coach Mike Munchak over the course of the last season.
Villanueva very well could wind up challenging third-year tackle and former second-round draft pick Mike Adams for a roster spot this offseason, or at the very least, provide some quality competition for the Ohio State product to beat out.
