It’s one of the highest-paid defenses in the NFL once again, and it features a number of big-name players.
The Pittsburgh Steelers defense is the strength of the team entering 2023 again, and it also boasts the three best players on the roster, at least according to Pro Football Focus’ Trevor Sikkema.
In a piece for PFF.com Wednesday morning, Sikkema highlighted the top three players entering the 2023 season for all 32 NFL teams. For the Steelers, the top three seems fairly obvious.
Sikkema highlighted outside linebacker T.J. Watt, defensive lineman Cameron Heyward and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick as the Steelers’ top three players.
“Though the Steelers’ offense is trending up with young talent, it’s still all about their defense,” Sikkema writes. “Watt and Heyward remain two of the best in the league at their positions when healthy, and Fitzpatrick earned the best overall grade of his career in 2022, an 82.4 overall mark with an 83.3 grade in coverage and an 82.2 grade in run defense.”
Aside from the easy choice of the three defenders, Sikkema included second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett as a player also considered for the list of three best players, which is a bit of a surprise, though it might not be in a few years.
That said, this Steelers team goes as the defense goes.
When T.J. Watt was healthy last season, Pittsburgh was 8-2. Without him, they were 1-6. He is the straw that stirs the drink in Pittsburgh, and rightfully so.
Watt already has a Defensive Player of the Year award under his belt, is closing in on the franchise’s all-time sacks record and is on a Hall of Fame pace. When healthy, he’s arguably the best defensive player in the NFL year after year.
While he isn’t quite on the same level as Watt, Cameron Heyward is as dominant a defensive lineman as there is in the NFL. Even as he gets older and is on the back nine of his career, Heyward somehow continues to get better and better for the Steelers and is coming off of two straight 10+ sack seasons for the Black and Gold.
He’s a perennial All-Pro and Pro Bowler, the face of the Steelers and is also quietly putting together a Hall of Fame resume in the trenches.
Then, there’s Fitzpatrick, who has elevated to another level in the NFL since coming to the Steelers in a 2019 trade with the Miami Dolphins.
Fitzpatrick is regarded as one of the best safeties in the NFL overall, has earned three first-team All-Pro accolades and three trips to the Pro Bowl in his first five seasons, and already has 17 interceptions and four defensive touchdowns with the Steelers in four seasons.
He’s not only taken his game to another level, he’s transformed the Steelers’ defense in the process.
Outside of Pittsburgh within the AFC North, Sikkema highlighted quarterback Lamar Jackson, tight end Mark Andrews and cornerback Marlon Humphrey as the three best players in Baltimore. For the Cincinnati Bengals, Sikkema went with three offensive weapons in quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, which is no surprise. For Cleveland Sikkema highlighted running back Nick Chubb, left guard Joel Bitonio and defensive end Myles Garrett as the Browns’ three best players.
