Steelers A to Z: Germany’s Julius Welschof quite an athlete, but needs refining to be NFL OLB

Editor’s note: From now until the first practice of training camp at Saint Vincent College, TribLive is running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, looking at each player and assessing his outlook for the 2024 season. The breakdown will run in alphabetical order with at least two players each day between June 14 and July 25. Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.

OLB JULIUS WELSCHOF

Experience/age: Rookie/27

Contract status: $796,666 cap hit if he makes the team in 2024

The past: Welschof grew up in Germany and was a high-level skier who hadn’t even heard much about American football until a trip to the U.S. in his mid-teens. A family friend suggested he could excel at the sport – so he took it up back home, ultimately earning enough notice that a scholarship to the University of Michigan followed. After five seasons for the Wolverines (one was a redshirt, another affected by the pandemic), Welschof spent a graduate-transfer 2023 season at Charlotte. A two-time all-academic Big Ten honoree over 34 games played for Michigan, Welschof started the first four games for Charlotte of Conference USA until his season ended because of injury.

Listed at 6-foot-6, 265 pounds, Welschof was not drafted, but the Steelers extended him a $5,000 bonus to sign with them in the hours after the draft ended in April. He was one of five undrafted rookie free agents to join the Steelers.

The Germany native couldn’t have imagined that what he took from that trip that would change his life most was via American … football.https://t.co/RBVAgo667e

— Tribune-Review Sports (@TribSports) June 17, 2024

2024 outlook: Surely one of the oldest rookies the Steelers have ever had, Welschof had and has the advantage of the NFL’s International Player Pathway program. The Steelers enjoy a roster exemption of an extra player for training camp, and Welschof could stick with the team throughout the season as a virtual “bonus” 17th practice squad player.

Over organized team activities and minicamp, Welschof seemed to have endeared himself to teammates and the coaching staff. If he can prove merely competent, there is virtually no risk or drawback to keeping him on the practice squad. The Steelers similarly kept England’s Christian Scotland-Williamson around as a tight end on their practice squad throughout the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Even if it never appeared highly likely Scotland-Williamson – a rugby player – would contribute meaningfully to a regular-season game, he was a willing worker who was an asset at practices.

Practice-squad “callups” are a new phenomenon since then, making it easier for players to play in regular season games. Welschof has a much more extensive background in football than Scotland-Williamson had when he arrived in Pittsburgh six years ago. The future will let it play out, but for 2024, bet on Welschof being part of the Steelers practice squad.