LATROBE, Pa. -- When T.J. Watt played 900 snaps on defense and special teams in 2017, the Steelers expressed concern the following summer with the large number of snaps their first-round pick had played the year before.
They wanted to lessen that load.
But Watt's workload was nothing compared to the snaps Terrell Edmunds played in 2018. The first-round draft pick played 1,190 snaps last season (967 on defense and 223 on special teams). That total led all NFL rookies and was in the top 10 for all defensive players. So much for easing him into things.
But the Steelers feel, entering Year 2, he will be that much better off for having seen all that action.
"That’s a lot of work," the secondary coach, Tom Bradley, told me Saturday after the team completed its second full practice of training camp here at Saint Vincent College. "You notice it in repetitions that he’s much more comfortable. There’s things he’s done many times. It’s not anything new to him. As things come up, he’s able to adjust on the fly because he knows from playing that many plays. That’s helped him a lot."
Edmunds admitted that is the case. He's now flying around the field on instinct rather than having to think about things. He can now just play the game as it comes to him. He recorded 78 tackles, an interception, a sack and four pass breakups in 2018. It was a nice start for the 28th-overall pick in the draft. But he knows he can do more.
"I will definitely be better," Edmunds told me. "I’m not saying I had a bad year last year, but it will be better. I’ve improved in areas. I’m going to limit my mistakes. I’m going to build off of last year and improve on everything."
At 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, Edmunds has excellent size for the position. He also has extreme athleticism, something that attracted the Steelers to him. He ran a 4.47-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine and showed off a 41.5-inch vertical jump.
Because of that athleticism, he and his younger brother Tremaine, a linebacker, became the first brothers to be taken in the first round of the same draft. Tremaine Edmunds was selected 16th last season by the Bills, while another brother, Trey, is a running back for the Steelers.
It's all in the family for the sons of former NFL Pro Bowl tight end Ferrell Edmunds. He's a truly freakish athlete, so much so that he never hit the dreaded "rookie wall" in 2018.
"I did not see that last year at all, " Bradley told me. "You’d think it would have. But his demeanor, you didn’t see it as the season went on. He actually got stronger. He never hit that wall. I hear that happens to some of them. But I think he understands how to go about his business and do things the right way."
Edmunds said his body doesn't react adversely to playing football like that.
"Honestly, my body is kind of tricky. I don’t get that sore or anything," he said. "I took some days off for the long-term gain, but I feel good now. I’m ready and excited."
He did, however, change his workouts a little bit. He still got his workouts in, but he also employed more rest periods, as well, on a daily basis. As a result, though he's down two pounds from the 217 pounds he played at as a rookie, his body looks different.
"He looks lean. But he’s only down a couple of pounds," Bradley said. "His body fat is like 2.3 (percent) or some crazy number. Last year, he trained more like a college guy. This year, he trained more like a pro guy. You see it. You notice it when you look at his body. He looks slim, but he’s almost the same weight that he played at last year."
It made a difference not being as harried as he was in his rookie year, went he went from being a student at Virginia Tech to readying himself for the Combine, and then straight to work with the Steelers following the draft.
"I think I figured out the way to train as a pro athlete rather than a college athlete," Edmunds told me. "College, you do crazy amounts of things. You’re running around, going to class, then going to practice, games. Your body really can’t prepare like it wants to. Now, I have free time during the day, so I can work out and then just chill."
Relaxed. That's where the Steelers want Edmunds. He doesn't have to fret over not knowing a play or finding a home or any of the other things rookies have to concern themselves with.
Then again, he played so much in 2018, he didn't have time to worry about that stuff anyway.
"That was crazy. They told me that," Edmunds said of his high snap count. "I was just out there playing, trying to help out the team the best I can.
"I was never just trying to survive. My head was always above the water. I just kept on pushing. That’s what you work out for all offseason, so you can keep on doing it. Hopefully, this year it’s longer."
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Steelers training camp, Latrobe, Pa., July 27, 2019 -- MATT SUNDAY / DKPS