After a career year, the Steelers tight end will likely have a bigger workload
LATROBE (93.7 The Fan) - Though 2017 was Vance McDonald's first year with the Steelers, he seemed to emerge as a household name in Pittsburgh during Week Three of the 2018 season.
With the Steelers down 7-0 in the first quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Ben Roethlisberger hit a wide open McDonald about ten yards downfield. As McDonald ran toward the sideline, he was met by Buccaneers safety Chris Conte. As Conte went to make the tackle, he was met with a violent stiff-arm from McDonald and wound up on the ground. McDonald went the rest of the way untouched for a 75 yard touchdown.
McDonald started every game for the Steelers following the stiff-arm, accumulating 50 receptions for 610 yards and four touchdowns. He began to overshadow Steelers tight end Jesse James, who ended his fourth season in Pittsburgh with 30 receptions for 423 yards and two touchdowns, then signed with Detroit in free agency.
With McDonald seemingly the obvious choice for the Steelers top tight end this season and Antonio Brown now in Oakland, McDonald is using training camp to prepare for a heavier workload.
"If you look at it number-wise, like you take away the amount of targets that AB had, they have to go somewhere," McDonald said Wednesday. "It just really depends on how Randy's (Fichtner) gonna want to call the game. I think naturally, like yeah, some of them will probably end up landing on our plates, and so we'll make the most of those opportunities going forward."
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