Just like that, we’ve reached the middle of June. That means mandatory minicamp starts Tuesday for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and then after that it’ll be a little over six weeks before the team reports to Latrobe and St. Vincent College for the start of training camp ahead of the 2023 season.
Real football is oh so close!
We still have some time though, so today I thought we could continue my Ranking The Steelers’ Starters series here at Steelers Depot, looking at No. 15-13 today.
Before we dive into the next three starters ranked in the middle of the pack, I wanted to again lay out my projected starters for the season as we draw nearer to training camp. Below, I went with 11 personnel and a three-receiver set offensively, while going with the Steelers’ sub-package defense.
*italics indicates players are already ranked in the series.
Offense
QB — Kenny Pickett
RB — Najee Harris
WR — George Pickens
WR – Diontae Johnson
WR – Allen Robinson II
TE — Pat Freiermuth
LT — Dan Moore Jr.
LG — Isaac Seumalo
C — Mason Cole
RG — James Daniels
RT – Chukwuma Okorafor
Defense
DE — Cameron Heyward
DE — Larry Ogunjobi
OLB — Alex Highsmith
ILB — Elandon Roberts
ILB — Cole Holcomb
OLB — T.J. Watt
CB — Patrick Peterson
CB — Levi Wallace
CB – Joey Porter Jr.
S — Minkah Fitzpatrick
S — Damontae Kazee
Specialists
K – Chris Boswell
P — Braden Mann
With that out of the way, let’s take a look at the ranking so far here at Steelers Depot:
No. 24 — Braden Mann, P
No. 23 — Dan Moore Jr., LT
No. 22 — Levi Wallace, CB
No. 21 — Joey Porter Jr., CB
No. 20 — Elandon Roberts, LB
No. 19 — Allen Robinson II, WR
No. 18 — Damontae Kazee, S
No. 17 — Chukwuma Okorafor, RT
No. 16 — Mason Cole, C
Now, let’s dive into the Steelers’ starters, No. 15-13.
No. 15 — Patrick Peterson, CB
The signing of Patrick Peterson in free agency was an interesting one from the Steelers’ perspective, considering his age (33 this season) and his play in a zone-heavy scheme last season in Minnesota compared to Pittsburgh’s man-heavy scheme. He isn’t what he once was, though he is coming off of his best season since 2018 in Arizona.
That said, he’s going to win with his mind and his eyes. He is rarely fooled and rarely gets beat deep. The Steelers will have to scheme around him at times, but he’s a great communicator and leader and will serve a young cornerbacks room quite well in that regard. He’ll also be on the best defense he’s played for in quite some time. That could lead to a late resurgence in his career, especially playing behind a fearsome pass rush.
Even with expectations seemingly very positive for Peterson in his first season in the Black and Gold, expectations should be tempered a bit. He’s going to be on the older side at a young man’s position, and his overall fit in the defense remains a bit murky. He’s still a massive name overall and is a future Hall of Famer, but his skills are diminishing.
No. 14 — Cole Holcomb, LB
Pittsburgh did quite well to land Cole Holcomb and shore up the inside linebacker room early on in free agency. Much like Peterson though, there are questions about him in Pittsburgh. He’s struggled to stay healthy in his career, though when he is healthy he’s a force. Plus, he’s not much of a coverage guy, so his role as the MACK in Pittsburgh is a curious fit.
All that said, he’s a great communicator and plays with his hair on fire, which is something the Steelers have desperately needed at the position in recent seasons. If he stays healthy he’s going to have a strong season. He’ll rack up the tackles and should be able to make some splash plays on a loaded defense.
Holcomb pairs rather nicely next to fellow free agent signee Elandon Roberts, which gives the Steelers an intriguing starting duo on the inside, at least for now. If he can stay clean behind a rebuilt defensive line and show off those playmaking chops he had in Washington, Holcomb could be much higher on this list in 2024 than he is now.
No. 13 — Kenny Pickett, QB
The placement of Kenny Pickett on this list might be the first controversial one of the series. Last season, I had Mitch Trubisky at No. 17 overall entering the season. Pickett obviously took over for him early on in the season and went through some growing pains before ultimately settling in and helping the Steelers win some football games.
He very clearly has that “it” factor at the position. Pickett was rather impressive in the second half of the season, cutting way down on the turnovers and general mistakes a young quarterback makes. He put together some strong performances overall in leading the Steelers to a 6-2 record when he was on the field.
Pittsburgh rebounded from a disastrous 2-6 start to finish 9-8, with a handful of wins in the second half of the season coming due to Pickett leading fourth quarter comebacks (Saints and Colts wins) and game-winning drives (Raiders, Ravens). When the lights get bright and the moment gets tight, he simply didn’t shrink, instead rising to the occasion.
That was big for a young quarterback to go through and grow from. That has him set up for success moving forward and has raised the bar on expectations as well.
But even with increased expectations, it’s worth tempering them some when it comes to Pickett. He’s the face of the Steelers’ offense right now and appears poised for a big second-year leap. However, he still has some stuff to work on with his game, including his consistency on deep balls, as well as his footwork and overall fundamentals within the pocket. If he can take that second-year leap that is seemingly expected of him currently, Pickett will be much, much higher on this list ahead of the 2024 season than he is currently.
