Before the offseason began, it looked like the Pittsburgh Steelers weren’t doing much of anything. They were cash strapped and didn’t really have any major needs other than getting their current players back from injury. But somehow the Steelers front office found a way to add some really nice players in free agency to fill in at multiple starting spots and looked to the future for the 2020 NFL draft.
At this point, the Steelers top goal has to be to keep pace with the high-powered contenders in the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens. Have they done enough? ESPN put out their post-draft power rankings this week and it looks like they still view the Steelers as a middle of the road squad, checking in at No. 14.
Here’s what they said about the ranking.
The quarterbacks came away from the draft with new playmakers and more job security. Roethlisberger got Martavis Bryant 2.0 with WR Chase Claypool, and the team didn’t draft a quarterback, further solidifying Rudolph’s job as the backup and potential heir apparent whenever Roethlisberger retires. Rudolph had a rocky 2019 season, but the team believes in developing him with the help of new QB coach Matt Canada. All of the moves signal that they believe Roethlisberger will be at full strength whenever the season starts, and they want to make his job as easy as possible.
These power rankings have the Steelers as the sixth-best team in the AFC, trailing the Chiefs, Ravens, Titans, Colts and Bills. This feels low but we have to concede that the entire season depends on the health of Ben Roethlisberger and honestly the rest is just window dressing.
