Now that we’ve wrapped up the Ranking the Rooms: AFC North series here at Steelers Depot, it’s time to turn our attention to the Ranking the Starters series for the Steelers.
For clarity’s sake, we’ll run down the 24 starters, which include kicker and punter, but not long snapper or returners. Offensively, I’m going to rank the starters based on a three-wide set, with one tight end, meaning no fullback (sorry Derek Watt fans). Defensively, I’m going to roll with the Steelers’ nickel defense, switching it up from last season when I went with the 3-4. So that means no nose tackle (Tyson Alualu) in this list.
Additionally, this list is based off my own personal rankings regarding skills, not value to the team like I did a few ago.
I’ll run down this group of 24 players in groups of three, making for an eight-piece series. Today, we’ll start off with No. 24-22. Here’s how last season’s rankings went.
Before we get started, I’ll give you a brief rundown of names to expect in this series, as I make my starters projections.
Offense
QB — Ben Roethlisberger
RB — James Conner
WR — JuJu Smith-Schuster
WR – Diontae Johnson
WR – James Washington
TE — Eric Ebron
LT — Alejandro Villanueva
LG — Matt Feiler
C — Maurkice Pouncey
RG — David DeCastro
RT – Chukwuma Okorafor
Defense
DE — Cameron Heyward
DE — Stephon Tuitt
OLB — Bud Dupree
ILB — Devin Bush
ILB — Vince Williams
OLB — TJ Watt
CB — Joe Haden
CB — Steven Nelson
CB – Mike Hilton
S — Minkah Fitzpatrick
S — Terrell Edmunds
Specialists
K – Chris Boswell
P — Jordan Berry
Does that make sense? Good.
Last note: here’s how the list started out last season with No’s: 24-22.
No. 24 — Jordan Berry
No. 23 — Chris Boswell
No. 22 — James Washington
No. 24 — Jordan Berry, P
While Jordan Berry did see his yards-per-punt numbers increase after two down years, Berry’s performance still wasn’t up to par for Pittsburgh throughout the season. While he did have his contract extended two years, it’s quite clear the Steelers would like to find a replacement while saving some money.
When he’s asked to boom punts, he can do it, but he continues to struggle at directional punting, which the Steelers have asked him to do often to mitigate punt returns.
It’s pretty clear-cut Berry is the “worst” starter on this roster.
No. 23 — Chukwuma Okorafor, RT
Yes, I’m projecting Chuks to win the right tackle battle in camp. This might feel a bit unfair to place him at 23, but we just haven’t really seen much from Chuks, outside of a start last season against the Los Angeles Rams.
Okorafor could turn out to be a really solid starting right tackle, but we just don’t know enough due to a lack of experience. Here’s hoping that if he does win the job he’s a solid starter for the Steelers to build the line around in the future.
No. 22 — Terrell Edmunds, S
Man, this one is tough to type. Edmunds was better in 2019 than 2018, but he continues to miss tackles at a high rate and really doesn’t create much defensively, in terms of turnovers.
Coverage is still an issue too for the third-year pro, but when he’s exclusively in the box he’s solid against the run and showed flashes against tight ends last season. If he can add some splash to his game he could really help this defense take another step forward.
