NFL fans love to argue about power rankings, debating where their team should be placed in the league-wide landscape throughout the offseason and during the regular season. The Pittsburgh Steelers have been slighted on numerous lists heading into the 2024 season, and ESPN added some more fuel to the fire with their latest projections.
Mike Clay, a senior NFL writer for ESPN, released his comprehensive 2024 projections, and he ranked the Steelers 20th in the NFL in his power rankings.
“The T.J. Watt-led defense remains one of the league’s best units, but the offense has major uncertainty at quarterback, wide receiver and the offensive line,” wrote Clay. “The Steelers have finished in the 8-10-win range in five of the past six seasons and figure to hang around .500 again in 2024.”
It isn’t too aesthetically-pleasing to see the Steelers positioned at 20 in the preseason power rankings, as they’ve generally been located in the 11-19 range in most power rankings over the past few seasons. But even more alarming, the Steelers received that ranking because Mike Clay graded their offensive unit 30th in the NFL ahead of just the Washington Commanders and New York Giants.
Being situated in-between the Patriots and Commanders at the bottom of the list is unpleasant company, and frankly a bit puzzling given their investments to upgrade the unit.
On the flip side, Clay ranked the Steelers defensive unit 3rd in the league, with their Edge position slotted as the best in the league, and their safeties ranked 7th overall. The combination of proven forces T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, as well as recent-riser Nate Herbig, is as good as it gets at edge in the NFL. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin should be frequently employing creative blitz schemes, especially with the team’s speed at middle linebacker with Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson. Minkah Fitzpatrick is still an All-Pro caliber free safety and the Steelers signed safety DeShon Elliott who started all fifteen games he played for the Miami Dolphins last season to pair with Fitzpatrick.
Clay’s power ranking included a few questionable picks ahead of the Steelers, notably the Seattle Seahawks at 16 and the Indianapolis Colts at 18. But the most head-scratching decision in Clay’s entire list was ranking the Cleveland Browns at nine overall. The Browns went on a bit of a cinderella-run last season led by Joe Flacco in which they won the hearts of many NFL fans across the league. Yet they were blown out much worse than the Steelers in the playoffs last year, and they’re still confidently rolling with Deshaun Watson as their starting quarterback in 2024.
Watson has shown nothing in twelve games with the Browns over the past two seasons to indicate that he should still have a starting quarterback job. He can’t stay healthy, and even when he’s healthy, he’s completed an abysmal 59.8% of passes with just 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions during his time in Cleveland. The Browns have a deep roster with one of the most talented defenses in the league, but he graded their defense ahead of the New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, and Baltimore Ravens, not to mention the Steelers. And their quarterback room is two spots ahead of the Steelers, even with Wilson coming off a season with 26 touchdowns and only eight interceptions, far better than numbers than Watson’s delivered since 2020.
The Steelers may be ranked 20th now, but I’d bet they climb those rankings as the season progresses.
