Nov 22, 2016 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – For years, the Steelers rarely had a rookie defensive player in their starting lineup, much to the chagrin of fans who wanted to see the latest high-round draft pick on the field.

That has changed in recent years as linebackers Jarvis Jones, Ryan Shazier and Bud Dupree were inserted into the starting lineup in at least a part-time fashion.

They have had no such wait this year to see cornerback Artie Burns, safety Sean Davis or nose tackle Javon Hargrave. In Pittsburgh’s win Sunday at Cleveland, all three rookies started and made an impact for the Steelers.

While defensive coordinator Keith Butler has been happy with their progress, he’s not exactly comfortable with the thought of relying on three players who are in their first NFL season, even if they were the team’s top three picks in this year’s draft.

“You’ve got to go with what you’ve got. It ain’t like you got a lot of choices sometimes, not in the National Football League,” Butler said. “I just hope they keep coming along the way they have and keep listening to the veterans who know how to get where we want to go.”

Where they Steelers (5-5) go this week is to Indianapolis (5-5) Thursday night.

The three rookies will have a quick turnaround, something to which they’re not necessarily accustomed.

“All of our (college) games were on Saturdays, so it’s going to be new to me,” said Davis, who replaced Robert Golden at strong safety in the lineup in the win over the Browns.

Nose tackle Casey Hampton and inside linebacker Kendrell Bell were regular starters in 2001 for the Steelers, but not since 1987, when safety Thomas Everett and cornerbacks Delton Hall and Rod Woodson were in their regular rotation, has Pittsburgh gone with three defensive rookies in the lineup for any reason other than injuries. And Woodson, a future Hall-of-Fame player, wasn’t a starter that season after a lengthy holdout, playing only on passing downs.

It’s been different for this group.

Hargrave has been a starter at nose tackle since the season opener, and Davis began the year at the nickel defensive back after Senquez Golson was injured on the first day of contact at training camp.

Burns, meanwhile, began playing when the Steelers utilized five or six defensive backs early in the season. He pushed veteran William Gay to the third cornerback spot three weeks ago.

Against Cleveland, the three rookies contributed seven tackles, four pass defenses, an interception, a sack and a fumble recovery for a touchdown by Hargrave.

As productive a game as it was, it could have been better. Burns had his second interception of the season but dropped at least one other. Davis missed two sacks on blitzes and also had a fumble return for a touchdown called back because of a penalty.

“I just got too happy. I’ve got to slow down a little bit and hopefully I can get that again,” Davis said of the missed sack. “The hole was huge and I got too excited and came in too fast.

“We were hitting, we were hitting really hard. DBs have to work on some catches – we probably dropped four picks.”

But it was a good start for three players the Steelers hope will be a big part of their future.

With Pittsburgh entering the game against the Browns mired in a four-game losing streak, the three rookies didn’t give much thought to the historical nature of the game.

“That was a big game for us, so we just prepared to come out like we needed this win,” said Hargrave. “That was all that was on our mind.”

Indianapolis coach Chuck Pagano said he is holding out hope that quarterback Andrew Luck will clear concussion protocol before Thursday’s game, but wide receiver T.Y. Hilton said the Colts were told in a meeting that Luck is not expected to play against the Steelers. … Wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey (foot), safety Shamarko Thomas (groin) and running back DeAngelo Williams (knee) did not practice Tuesday for the Steelers and are unlikely to play Thursday. Safety Jordan Dangerfield (groin) and tight end Xavier Grimble (quad) were limited.