The quarterbacks and playmakers grabbed a lot of headlines for the Pittsburgh Steelers immediately after the team’s preseason opener Thursday. That’s because Mike McCarthy’s offense performed very well.
But so did other rookies on defense such as defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio. The Day 3 pick left Steelers Depot analyst Joe Clark impressed.
“When the Steelers drafted Rubio in the sixth round, the general thought was confusion. He was off the radar and not projected to be drafted after dealing with injuries throughout his career at Notre Dame, but Rubio is a name to get familiar with,” wrote Clark. “In Pittsburgh’s 28-9 win over the Packers to open the preseason, Rubio was hard to ignore.
“In 21 defensive snaps, he had six total tackles and was one of the Steelers’ most impactful players.”
Only edge rusher Jamin Davis had more tackles for the Steelers defense than Rubio on Thursday night.
Rubio received hype as an “emerging” player at Steelers training camp before the preseason opener. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Christopher Carter argued Rubio has “a real shot” to make the final 53-man roster.
The rookie only confirmed he should be in that conversation with his performance Thursday.
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