The Pittsburgh Steelers will be taking the field to battle for a Lombardi Trophy in 2019. Before that happens, players will battle it out for their positions & football lives. With camp only a few weeks away, the competition will be fierce.

Position battles are a big part of team-building and what drives success for teams and players this time of year. Players will compete with each other for a right to stake claim to enter 2019 as the starter at their respective position. This is huge for the Pittsburgh Steelers in a season of change.

There are stalwarts all over the roster with decided claims already, such as former first-rounder Joe Haden, Pro Bowler Alejandro Villanueva, and young star JuJu Smith-Schuster. However, for many others, the decisions remain muddled, and the answers are still very unclear. I will take a look below at some of the top remaining battles to watch during this upcoming camp session. These clashes will help determine the fate and success of the Steelers and their 2019 quest for a championship.

Number Two Wide Receiver

Last year’s number two wide receiver, JuJu Smith-Schuster, will be elevated into the number one role this year in place of Antonio Brown. JuJu has taken the league by storm during his first two seasons. That rise to stardom and his continued success was previously chronicled here at PFN. There are many exciting candidates available to replace JuJu as the number two option in the passing game.

The Steelers brought in former Colts’ and Jaguars’ receiver Donte Moncrief, who appears to be leading the early charge to be the starter. Moncrief and Big Ben have developed an early rapport during minicamp and OTAs. Moncrief is a former third-round draft pick of the Colts and has struggled with injuries and inconsistent play during his five-year NFL career. He is now facing arguably his best opportunity as a young player in the NFL as a Steeler. He has a knack for finding the end zone, and if he can continue to grow into a starter in this offense, he could be in line for his best season yet.

His competition comes in the form of sophomore deep-threat James Washington and 2019 third-round pick Diontae Johnson. Washington showed flashes of his big-play ability during his rookie season, as he averaged a healthy 13.6 yards on 16 catches. He has big-time breakout potential in this offense if he can nail down the starting role. Washington appeared ticketed for a big role as a rookie, but those early expectations never materialized.

Johnson figures to add more value to the return game than as a receiver in his rookie season. He led the nation with 19.9 yards per return as a punt returner at Toledo. There is certainly no shortage of talent at the position, but it figures to come down to experience in this receiver battle. Moncrief will likely get the first crack at the starting opportunity. However, if the big receiver starts the season slowly, he could be on a short leash. And would not be a surprise to see the young guys get a crack as the season wears on.

Free Safety

This battle may come as a surprise, as most Steelers’ fans expect Sean Davis to return as the team’s starting free safety. However, he does face some competition from a local fan favorite in Marcus Allen. Allen was a fifth-round selection of the Steelers in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Penn State. He is a big hitter and seems to embody the city’s hard-working and gritty mentality.

Davis is a former second-day pick that has been moved all over this defense since entering the league in 2016. He has yet to meet the potential that the team envisioned when they drafted him out of Maryland. If he loses this battle to Allen, 2019 could be his final season in the Steel City, as he becomes a free agent following the year. As mentioned in my hot seat piece last month, Davis’ lock on the free safety position is tenuous at best, and his seat may be the warmest on the team.

For the first time in his career, Davis was able to focus on a solo position last season. However, the results were mixed. He was productive if unspectacular while recording 80 total tackles, and seven passes defended. For that time spent around the football, Davis only registered one interception. His competition may not be a true ball-hawk either, but Allen could add a Troy Polamalu-type of inspiration and fire to this defense. The battle to lead Pittsburgh’s secondary out of obscurity in 2019 will be Davis’ to lose, and Allen has the most to gain here.

Right Tackle

Marcus Gilbert has been a mainstay on the right side of Pittsburgh’s line since his rookie season in 2011. However, Gilbert has only started 12 games since the start of 2017 due to injuries and was traded to the Arizona Cardinals this offseason. During Gilbert’s absence last season, Matt Feiler filled in admirably and had a mini-breakout season for the Steelers. That glimpse of potential makes Feiler the early favorite and he could be looking at a big year if he remains the starter.

Feiler has a chance to improve on his impressive debut this season, but he will still face competition from some talented players during this year’s training camp installment. Chukwuma Okorafor is a significant and lengthy prospect who was drafted by the team in 2018 as the successor to Gilbert. Okorafor started three games last season, while Feiler started ten. Therefore, Feiler has a slight edge in experience, but Okorafor carries the talent advantage.

These two aren’t the only competitors at the offensive tackle position. Players like Jerald Hawkins and Zach Banner could also figure into the mix at the position this offseason. They likely will not be counted on as starters, but are talented players and could give the Steelers depth at the position once the dust settles. The rest of the offensive line appears set, so any newcomers will have to settle in as reserves. Even with the uncertainty at right tackle, the line as a whole seems to be a strength for this time once again. And whoever emerges in this battle between Feiler and Okorafor will only add to their success as a unit this season.

Scott Gorman is a writer for PFN covering the Pittsburgh Steelers. You can follow him @sgormanPFN on Twitter!