polamalubeast
05-28-2019, 01:46 PM
Steelers tight end Vance McDonald provided one of the signature moments of the 2018 season when he stiff-armed Buccaneers safety Chris Conte on his way to a 75-yard touchdown in an early-season Monday night game in Tampa. The NFL Films highlight reel play aside, last season was the best of McDonald’s six-year career for a number of other reasons.
He set career highs in receptions (50) and yards (610) and tied his career-high with four touchdown catches. In an offense with Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Conner, those are some impressive statistics.
Without Brown as the No. 1 option next season, McDonald knows quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and the coaches will be asking more from him.
“It’s required, it’s definitely being asked, and I will embrace it,” McDonald said Tuesday afternoon following the first organized team activity of the week at the team’s training facility on the South Side.
A second-round pick of San Francisco in 2013, McDonald has always had the athletic ability to become a productive No. 1 tight end, but injuries were problematic for him before last season. He missed 15 games over his first four seasons with the 49ers and then missed six in his first season with the Steelers.
Last season, McDonald finally had a season without a major injury, playing in 15 games with 14 starts.
“I didn’t do anything majorly different,” he said. “I guess it just happened. I was fortunate and happy to go through a season without a whole bunch of stuff. So we’ll do it again this year.”
read more
https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2019/05/28/vance-mcdonald-steelers-tight-ends-xavier-grimble-zach-gentry/stories/201905280112
He set career highs in receptions (50) and yards (610) and tied his career-high with four touchdown catches. In an offense with Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Conner, those are some impressive statistics.
Without Brown as the No. 1 option next season, McDonald knows quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and the coaches will be asking more from him.
“It’s required, it’s definitely being asked, and I will embrace it,” McDonald said Tuesday afternoon following the first organized team activity of the week at the team’s training facility on the South Side.
A second-round pick of San Francisco in 2013, McDonald has always had the athletic ability to become a productive No. 1 tight end, but injuries were problematic for him before last season. He missed 15 games over his first four seasons with the 49ers and then missed six in his first season with the Steelers.
Last season, McDonald finally had a season without a major injury, playing in 15 games with 14 starts.
“I didn’t do anything majorly different,” he said. “I guess it just happened. I was fortunate and happy to go through a season without a whole bunch of stuff. So we’ll do it again this year.”
read more
https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2019/05/28/vance-mcdonald-steelers-tight-ends-xavier-grimble-zach-gentry/stories/201905280112