The Pittsburgh Steelers are now into the offseason, following a year in which they had high hopes for Super Bowl success, but ultimately fell short of even reaching the postseason at 8-8. It was a tumultuous season, both on the field and within the roster, and the months to follow figure to have some drama as well, especially in light of the team’s failure to improve upon the year before.
The team made some bold moves over the course of the past year, and some areas of the roster look quite a bit different than they did a year ago, or even at the start of the regular season. Whether due to injuries or otherwise, a lot has transpired, and we’re left to wonder how much more will change prior to September.
How will Ben Roethlisberger’s rehab progress as he winds toward recovery from an elbow injury that cost him almost the entire season? What about some of the key young players, some of whom have already impressed, others still needing quite a bit of growth? Will there be changes to the coaching staff? The front office? Who will they not retain in free agency, and whom might they bring in?
These are the sorts of questions among many others that we have been exploring on a daily basis and will continue to do so. Football has become a year-round pastime and there is always a question to be asked, though there is rarely a concrete answer, as I’ve learned in my years of doing this.
Question: How many Steelers would start on the Browns’ offense to begin the 2020 season?
You can have talent and still not be a very good team. I don’t think there are many left who can deny that the Cleveland Browns have a lot of talent. That doesn’t mean that they’re going to do great things this year. But if you go down their starting lineup position by position, really think about it—who on the Steelers would they choose to start over their own options?
The first one that springs to mind is David DeCastro, especially since right guard is basically the only position on the Browns’ roster that isn’t currently solidified. I don’t know that another lineman would start, however, with Joel Bitonio, Jack Conklin, and J.C. Tretter all being accomplished players themselves. Jedrick Wills being a rookie allows for debate. An argument can be made for Maurkice Pouncey too, of course.
Cleveland’s backfield with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt is admittedly impressive. Both a Pro Bowl backs. I wouldn’t expect to see James Conner ahead of either. Perhaps Eric Ebron would have a chance of starting ahead of David Njoku, who has yet to live up to his potential, or the newly signed Austin Hooper, but then again, they chose to sign Hooper and not Ebron.
JuJu Smith-Schuster might be Cleveland’s number three receiver behind Odell Beckham, Jr. and Jarvis Landry. And then there’s quarterback…Ben Roethlisberger would have to show up on the field first. Baker Mayfield is what they’re building their offense around.
