In less than two weeks, the Pittsburgh Steelers will finally be playing football. This Steelers roster has been built from the ground up over the last few seasons with a mix of draft picks and free agents and there are former top picks all over the field.
But if you were to find a weak link in the chain where would it be?
There are really only two spots where there is some unknown. The Steelers are looking for a new starting nose tackle and a new starting right tackle. Which is the weakest link? It depends on how you think about it.
The loss of defensive tackle Javon Hargrave is tough. He is such a good interior pass rusher and disruptor there isn’t really a guy on the roster who can do what he can do. The Steelers have several guys who will attempt to fill the gap including Tyson Alualu, Isaiah Buggs and Dan McCullers.
None of these players are Hargrave but thanks to the versatility of players like Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt the dip in production should be mitigated.
Right tackle is a different matter. The sudden retirement of guard Ramon Foster at the end of last season created a predicament for Pittsburgh. The best option to replace Foster is Matt Feiler who was the team’s starting right tackle last season. This leaves Zach Banner and Chuks Okorafor to battle it out to replace him.
If I am weighing the two, right tackle is a much bigger worry. The Steelers defense is stacked. If Alualu struggles, there are plenty of guys to pick him up. But if Banner or Okorafor struggle, the entire offensive line struggles. This leads to potentially more pressure on quarterback Ben Roethlisberger as well as the run game.
Where do you think the weak link is in the Steelers roster?
