How good will the Pittsburgh Steelers? Honestly, no one has any idea. This is a team which has gone through significant turmoil followed by turnover over the course of the last year. The team is saying all the right things but until they get on the field, it’s impossible to know if all these changes will add up to wins.
Our friends over at Touchdown Wire put out their Week One power rankings and in it they have the Steelers sitting firmly at No. 9. Here’s what they had to say about the team.
With Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell gone, the Steelers will rely on running back James Conner, as well as an intriguing group of receivers including JuJu Smith-Schuster, second-year vertical threat James Washington, and third-round rookie Diontae Johnson. But the real story of the 2019 Steelers, at least based on the 2019 preseason, could be a massively improved pass defense. Last season, Pittsburgh often wasted a high-quality pass rush in the hands of a secondary that was far too passive and failed to use schemes that were in the best interests of their players. But recently, the Steelers have been running more man and match concepts, and looking quite a bit better in the process. The extent to which this extends into the regular season could decide who wins the AFC North.
It’s hard to argue with this placement. We will know in just a few weeks if this new-look Steelers team are contenders or pretenders. Let us know if you agree with where Touchdown Wire has the Steelers ranked.
