The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a rather active offseason, bringing in five outside free agents while agreeing to new contracts with some of their own free agents, including defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi. Pittsburgh’s moves were broken down by NFL executives around the league in an article by The Athletic’s Mike Sando, and the feedback was generally positive.
“That is five (potential) starters, which is big for them, and they also re-signed (Larry) Ogunjobi to a pretty big deal,” an exec said per the article.
The five potential starters would be guards Isaac Seumalo and Nate Herbig, linebackers Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts and cornerback Patrick Peterson. While it’s more likely Herbig comes off the bench to start the year, the team views him as a potential starter. He’ll provide valuable depth for a Pittsburgh O-line that’s not banking on being as healthy as it was last season.
“It seemed like they were just plugging holes cheap so they can draft the guys they want,” another executive said. “They have made no mistakes. They have been very safe, which is the M.O. of their franchise as a whole.”
I don’t necessarily know if the Steelers played things safe. They completely overhauled their inside linebacker corps, letting Devin Bush and Robert Spillane walk while cutting Myles Jack to bring in Holcomb, who while talented has injury concerns, and Roberts. While it was a smart move and a good move to revamp arguably their weakest defensive position group from last season, I wouldn’t say it was a safe one.
But semantics aside, it’s been a good offseason from the Steelers — and they have a chance to build on it through the draft. The Steelers upgraded their offensive line and their linebacker corps, but they still need help at EDGE and cornerback, and could stand to add another offensive lineman or two. Getting guys in the draft who can immediately contribute — the Steelers have three picks in the first 50 selections of the draft– would be huge for a team that needs more depth pieces that perform above their standing on the depth chart.
The Steelers saw what happens with shoddy depth last season. After T.J. Watt went down, they got next to no production from Malik Reed or Jamir Jones. They need to add more starter-capable depth, and it seems that’s what they’ve done in free agency. Hopefully, they continue to do so in the draft.
