As seems to be so often in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ history, the ultimate question surrounding their upcoming season is a simple one: Do they have enough on offense not to let the defense down? It’s a question that’s only grown to be more important over time, arguably, due to rule changes, and it’s the one ESPN analyst Marcus Spears weighs in on considering the team for 2023.
“It starts with him and Matt Canada and how they want to operate offensively”, he said during a recent segment. He specifically expressed concerns about opening up the offense with quarterback Kenny Pickett as a necessary tactic to keep pace with the other offenses of the top teams in the league.
“I want to see how he is deployed”, he said of Pickett. “I want to see where the confidence level is to allow him” to push the ball down the field. He added, “I think this year you’ve got to open this thing up”.
“I like this defense, but we know in this day and age in the NFL, if you can’t find times to be prolific offensively, you probably got no shot at being able to do what you plan on doing”, Spears continued, “especially with Lamar Jackson and seeing if Deshaun Watson is going to emerge in that division as well, and Joe Burrow goes without saying”.
Many argue that the AFC North could be the toughest division in football in 2023 from top to bottom. The Cincinnati Bengals have been in at least the conference finals in each of the past two years, and the Baltimore Ravens are always a threat when Jackson is healthy. if Watson can be salvaged, the Cleveland Browns become a major concern as well.
Of course, it’s not all on Pickett. He has been surrounded by playmakers on paper, but they will have to help make things happen, particularly Najee Harris at running back, both out of the backfield and as a receiver, alongside Diontae Johnson and George Pickens and tight end Pat Freiermuth.
Then there’s the offensive line, which has likely added two new starters this offseason in veteran free agent Isaac Seumalo and rookie first-round pick Broderick Jones. If the Steelers can control the line of scrimmage, it would make things a lot easier on Pickett, including his ability to let the ball loose on deep throws.
While Pickett does not have the elitest arm strength of the elite, his ability to push the ball down the field is more than sufficient, and he did show some good timing and anticipation when looking 20 yards on last year, especially in the second half of the season.
Some of that was playing hero ball with Pickens, which admittedly worked pretty well overall, but if the Steelers can take the deep passing game to another level and really open that up, while also establishing the threat of the running game, they could really have a legitimate championship-caliber offense sooner rather than later. That’s a lot of ifs, but that’s why we follow, isn’t it?
