Kevin Dotson, Alex Highsmith prepare for starting roles in 2nd year with Steelers

Mike Tomlin believes the biggest ascension in an NFL player’s career comes in his second season.

Kevin Dotson and Alex Highsmith would like to justify the faith their Pittsburgh Steelers coach is showing them at that pivotal stage of their careers.

After making contributions as rookies and combining to start nine times, Dotson and Highsmith are being counted upon as full-time starters for the Steelers in 2021 — Dotson at left guard and Highsmith at right outside linebacker.

Both young players have used the first week of organized team activities to get a jump on the process, getting individual and positional work with coaches.

“I feel I’m more prepared,” said Dotson, a 2020 fourth-round pick from Louisiana. “I know what is to come. Last year, with the covid stuff, I didn’t know when I was supposed to come to Pittsburgh. I didn’t know what we were going to do, what the type of practices they would be.

“Now, I can expect it and know what to work for, and I worked for it all offseason.”

Dotson is taking over for Matt Feiler, who signed with the Los Angeles Chargers in free agency. Dotson was groomed for a potential starting role last season when he started four times and appeared in 13 of 16 regular-season games.

Highsmith is filling the void at outside linebacker created by another free agency defection, one that was expected. After spending five seasons with the organization, including the last two in which he combined for 19.5 sacks, Dupree received an $82.5 million offer from the Tennessee Titans.

The Steelers selected Highsmith in the third round out of Charlotte with an eye toward having him replace Dupree this year.

“I’m just coming in with the expectation and mindset of being the best player I can be,” Highsmith said. “Coming in and stepping into this role, I’m excited and blessed to have this opportunity. The same thing happened to me in college when I didn’t start my first few years. I took advantage of it, and that’s what I have to do now.”

Dotson starting at left guard is one of many changes taking place on the offensive line. With Maurkice Pouncey’s retirement, the Steelers will start either Kendrick Green, B.J. Finney or J.C. Hassenauer at center. Chuks Okorafor is moving from right tackle to left, where he will get the first shot at replacing Alejandro Villanueva, who signed with the Baltimore Ravens.

“We just have to adapt,” Dotson said. “My offensive lines on any team I’ve played on, we’ve had to plug people in and do what we needed to do to get it done. We’ll miss the leadership of Pouncey and them, but we’ll adjust. We can’t hold onto it. We have to move on and start our own stuff.”

Playing left guard is an adjustment Dotson is undertaking. In college, Dotson played on the right side, and he filled in there early in his rookie season because of injuries to David DeCastro and backup Stefen Wisniewski.

Dotson started the final two games of the regular season on the left side while Feiler was dealing with an injury. In his exit interview, Dotson was told to prepare to play left guard in 2021.

“What I did in the offseason was train for the left side just to get more comfortable there,” he said. “Last year, I wasn’t too comfortable with it, but I feel like I’m way more comfortable now.”

Highsmith was the top backup at both outside linebacker positions as a rookie until Dupree tore his ACL in Week 12 against Baltimore. Highsmith started the final five games. He totaled five quarterback hits, two tackles for loss and one sack down the stretch. He suffered an ankle injury in the first half of the playoff loss to the Browns and did not play after halftime.

“As the game started slowing down for me, I felt like I was able to process things easier,” Highsmith said. “The more reps I get, the slower the game will come for me. I’ll be able to get off the ball faster, create more pressure and get more sacks.”

Highsmith said he worked on adding muscle in the offseason and weighed about 254 — an increase of 3-4 pounds — when he reported to OTAs. He hasn’t gotten a chance yet to work this spring with Watt, the NFL Defensive Player of the Year runner-up, but he is looking forward to building the kind of chemistry that Watt shared with Dupree.

“I’m excited to hit the field with him this year and to be along him rushing the passer,” Highsmith said. “It’s going to be exciting. I can’t wait for it.”