Last season’s version of the Pittsburgh Steelers was battered with injuries to a degree that the healthy players left, regardless of how good they were, just couldn’t keep up. But everyone is healthy now and the team has made some interesting offseason moves despite very limited salary cap space. How do they break down by position unit? Here are my rankings after the draft and most of free agency.
1-Outside linebacker
It’s hard to have the most explosive pass-rushing tandem in the AFC and not be at the top of this list. T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree both had breakout seasons in 2019 and are coming into this season with a ton of momentum. The addition of Alex Highsmith in the draft and the continued emergence of Ola Adeniyi just makes this group better.
2-Cornerback
Like outside linebacker, cornerback has a dominant tandem. Joe Haden really benefited from just who well Steven Nelson played after coming over from the Kansas City Chiefs. But it doesn’t end there. Mike Hilton is one of the top slot cornerbacks in the NFL and Cam Sutton and Justin Layne are emerging young talents.
3-Tight end
If the Steelers don’t start using their tight ends this year, they never well. Vance McDonald is an underrated receiver and willing blocker but the addition of Eric Ebron really opens things up in terms of options for offensive schemes.
4-Quarterback
If Ben Roethlisberger wasn’t coming back, this group would be dead last. But the return of the best quarterback in franchise history gives this unit a huge bump. Things didn’t go according to plan when Roethlisberger went down with an injury and didn’t go according to plan for Mason Rudolph in his place. But you have to assume Rudolph learned a ton from last season and will be better.
5-Wide receiver
The talent is there. JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson can play. James Washington might as well as be a co-starter as much as he plays. You throw rookie Chase Claypool into the mix and this group could end up being downright elite if Roethlisberger does his part.
6-Safety
No one is terribly inspired by the play of Terrell Edmunds since the Steelers spent a first-round pick on him out of the blue in 2018. But he gets a huge boost from having All-Pro Minkah Fitzpatrick next to him. Fitzpatrick’s ridiculous skill set covers a lot of flaws in Edmunds’ game. The addition of Antoine Brooks in the draft gives Pittsburgh the third safety they have lacked for several seasons.
7-Running back
There is no position in the NFL more de-valued than running back. The same can be said for the Steelers. James Conner, Benny Snell Jr., Jaylen Samuels and Anthony McFarland Jr. are a nice group but none of them jump off the page as all-purpose backs who can take over a game when necessary. Their success will be tied directly to how good the passing game is and not the other way around.
8-Interior offensive line
This is where things get dicey. There’s nothing wrong with the interior offensive line of the Steelers but it doesn’t wow anyone anymore either. Maurkice Pouncey is coming off one of his worst seasons and even David DeCastro wasn’t his usual self in 2019. The retirement of Ramon Foster means Stefen Wisniewski starts at left guard. Will he be an upgrade? It’s hard to have confidence in that.
9-Inside linebacker
Devin Bush looks like one of the young stars in the league. But after Bush, the athleticism and experience take a nosedive. I want to believe Vince Williams can assume the starting role again and play well but I think we can expect to see a lot of Bush and not much else from inside linebackers even being on the field with all the sub-packages the Steelers run.
10-Special teams
The only player who is off the hook in this one is kicker Chris Boswell. The Steelers got good Bos back in 2019 and he was once again the most consistent scoring threat on the team. Unfortunately, the offense was so putrid they couldn’t even get him into field goal range. The rest of the special teams was a struggle. Punter Jordan Berry was wildly inconsistent again and the coverage teams took a hit with the losses in free agency. The one other bright spot was the emergence of Diontae Johnson in the return game.
11-Offensive tackle
Similar to the interior offensive line, the team’s offensive tackles are just sort of average. Alejandro Villanueva and Matt Feiler were solid in pass protection last season but the woes in the run game fell back on them to some degree. The best hope is that Zach Banner or Chuks Okorafor can step up in training camp and if not steal a starting spot this season, can take over next year.
12-Defensive line
It’s hard to put this group last because it isn’t as if they are awful. But the loss of Javon Hargrave, questions about the durability of Stephon Tuitt and lack of overall depth really raise questions about if this group if more than Cam Heyward and a bunch of guys.
