It has been a rather busy offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have seen their roster under GM Omar Khan be reshaped in a major way at the quarterback position, not to mention wide receiver, cornerback and linebacker.
After going 10-7 in 2023 and losing in the first round of the AFC playoffs to the Buffalo Bills, the Steelers underwent major changes, bringing in veteran quarterback Russell Wilson in free agency and trading for quarterback Justin Fields, adding All-Pro linebacker Patrick Queen and veteran safety DeShon Elliott in free agency, and trading quarterback Kenny Pickett and wide receiver Diontae Johnson this offseason.
Next up from the offseason roster building standpoint for the Steelers is the 2024 NFL Draft. It gets underway on Thursday night in Detroit, where the Steelers aim to add more high-end pieces to the roster to help the retooling process.
That retooling process hasn’t been for everyone though.
In Pro Football Focus’ pre-draft power rankings Monday morning, PFF’s Amelia Probst ranked the Steelers 25th overall in the NFL, in the same conversation with the Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders and Tennessee Titans.
“It remains to be seen whether the addition of Russell Wilson (and Justin Fields) improves their 27th-graded offense from 2023. The Steelers finished seventh in team defense grade but added Donte Jackson, Patrick Queen and DeShon Elliott this offseason,” Probst writes regarding the Steelers in the PFF rankings.Â
Yes, there are some questions regarding the Wilson and Fields additions, but there is no doubt the Steelers are in a better spot currently at the quarterback position than the they were last season with Mason Rudolph, Kenny Pickett and Mitch Trubisky. The Steelers have more athleticism at the position, which matches what head coach Mike Tomlin wants at the quarterback position.
Though Wilson was released by the Broncos, creating a massive dad cap hit for Denver, he is coming off a strong 2023 season in which he threw for 3,070 yards, 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions, throwing a great deep ball in the process once again. He might not be the Wilson he once was, but he is still a good NFL quarterback who raises the floor for the Steelers.Â
The defense got stronger, too, with the additions of Queen and Elliott, as well as the acquisition of cornerback Donte Jackson in the Johnson trade.
Though there is a hole at receiver and center still, the Steelers feel like a better team overall.
So, it was rather surprising to see the Steelers land at No. 25 overall in the power rankings.
Probst highlighted Pickett as the player with the most WAR who was lost in the offseason. Pickett had a PFF WAR of 1.21, while the addition of Wilson was the most WAR added at 1.53 WAR.
