You can count the number of likely starters on this year’s Pittsburgh Steelers defense who are returning from the same role last season on one hand. Go ahead, try it. You have Cameron Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi, Alex Highsmith, T.J. Watt, and Minkah Fitzpatrick. Okay, and Levi Wallace. Maybe you have six fingers.
The point is there are going to be a lot of new faces on the defense this year running around and playing a critical role in one way or another. The starting inside linebackers are new, as is much of the secondary, with guys like Cole Holcomb, Patrick Peterson, Keanu Neal, Elandon Roberts, and others coming in to take on reps lost this offseason in various ways.
Head coach Mike Tomlin is not worried about what that will mean for cohesion however. That’s because the Steelers have reloaded this defense principally with established players around the league who come in knowing what they’re doing—even if they will have to learn a new name for it.
“A lot of the new pieces are veteran players, so it’s not new learning, it’s simply, ‘What do we call it?’”, he told reporters after minicamp practice yesterday, via the team’s website. “A guy like Roberts, for example, a guy like Pat Peterson, they’ve seen all that football has to offer from a schematic standpoint. Really, it’s just learning the language. So although they might be new to us, it’s not ground zero in terms of some of the things that we’re asking them to do”.
Aside from those already mentioned, there will be others, on both sides of the ball, who will either be starters or possible key rotational or situational players this year, whether we’re talking about Isaac Seumalo, Allen Robinson II, Markus Golden, Chandon Sullivan, or Breiden Fehoko.
Of course, the Steelers also have some rookies coming in who may play a major role this year, and much will be quite new to them. First-round pick Broderick Jones will be in contention to start at left tackle, and second-rounders Joey Porter Jr. and Keeanu Benton will both be vying for roles, either as full-time starters or situational defenders, on defense. Third-round tight end Darnell Washington may immediately step in as their full-time blocker.
But those sorts of changes are par for the course for every team, including the Steelers, in any given year, even if they have increasingly relied upon playing time from rookies than they might have preferred to do in years past.
The amount of players they’ve parted ways with versus the number of veterans brought in this offseason, on the other hand, is above their normal rate, so it’s fair to ask these questions about how that will affect their ability to function as units.
And it’s easy to talk about how simple it will be now, but the proof will be in the pudding when they kick off in September. Will there be some growing pains in this aspect? Probably. But most of these guys also already know what it’s like to switch teams and learn new systems, so that’s another bonus.
