Cody Benjamin of CBSSports.com recently published a piece where eight contributors of the site voted on their picks for the 2022 CBS Preseason All-NFL Team. The goal of the exercise was to compile their top projected talents for this season and form the best offensive and defensive units the league has to offer.
When looking at the roster as voted by the members of CBS Sports, only two Steelers cracked the lineup: DL Cam Heyward and EDGE T.J. Watt.
“Heyward and Buckner do all the little things work up front for the Steelers and Colts, respectively,” Benjamin said on the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman and continued on to Watt. “This is a deep group that saw a dozen different names nominated, but there’s clear consensus on the nastiest of the bunch: Watt is a relentless wrecking ball off the edge in Pittsburgh, Garrett is the heart of Cleveland’s defense, and Bosa hasn’t let medical hiccups prohibit him from a Defensive Player of the Year pace.”
Heyward earned five of the eight votes from the staff while Watt earned a perfect eight votes along with fellow edge rushers Myles Garrett and Nick Bosa. Watt and Heyward are clear choices at their respective positions for this list, with both defenders coming off Pro Bowl and All-Pro nominations in 2021 while Watt took home the Defensive Player of the Year Award after tying the single-season sack record with 22.5 sacks last season. Both players figure to be the face of the defense, and the team in general in 2022 and should be at or near the top of their respective positions again barring injury.
Benjamin did include an “others receiving votes” category as well in the article, highlighting RB Najee Harris, WR Diontae Johnson, and S Minkah Fitzpatrick. Both Harris and Johnson were recognized as Pro Bowlers last season while Fitzpatrick failed to receive a lot of love after seeing his takeaways decrease compared to his previous two seasons in Pittsburgh. All three have strong arguments to be also named on the All-NFL Team and will have the opportunity this season to show the voters at CBS Sports as well as the general public that they belong on that list come 2023.
