Welcome to the dead period between minicamp and training camp in the NFL landscape.
Buckle up for the next few weeks as we all make the seemingly long, slow trip to Saint Vincent College in Latrobe between now and report day on July 26 for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Though there is some downtime, it’s a perfect stretch for me to continue some of my offseason series. Today, I thought we could continue my Ranking The Steelers’ Starters series here at Steelers Depot, looking at No. 12-10 today.
Below is the list of projected starters that I am using for the series, featuring a three-wide receiver, 11 personnel set offensively, as well as sub-package football defensively.
*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
No. 15 — Patrick Peterson, CB
No. 14 — Cole Holcomb, LB
No. 13 — Kenny Pickett, QB
No. 12 — Chris Boswell, K
No. 11 — Larry Ogunjobi, DE
No. 10 — George Pickens, WR
No. 9 — Najee Harris, RB
No. 8 — Pat Freiermuth, TE
No. 7 — Isaac Seumalo, LG
Let’s dive into the next trio of starters in the series, highlight No. 6-4.
No. 6 — Diontae Johnson, WR
I understand some — likely many — will view this as far too high for Diontae Johnson, especially coming off the 2022 season he put together. I get it; it was a historic season in a negative way. But I still remain rather high on Johnson and his skill set. He’s a true No. 1-type receiver that consistently creates separation and is one of the best route runners in the NFL.
He certainly needs to be more consistent with his hands and needs to stop running backwards at times after the catch aiming to try and hit the home run, but he has everything — outside of size — that a team looks for in a No. 1 receiver.
Johnson had a down year statistically in 2022 but still graded out well in Pro Football Focus’ system and other metrics that noted him as the NFL’s most open wide receiver. He still has areas of his game to work on and failing to find the end zone in record fashion last year, the most single-season catches without one, is an eyesore, to say the least. But he’s still a starting receiver and capable playmaker with his fair share of “wow” moments.
Don’t sell all your shares on Johnson just yet.
No. 5 — James Daniels, RG
Last season, Daniels cracked the Ranking The Steelers’ Starters list at No. 9 overall after coming over from the Chicago Bears in free agency. This season, he cracks the top 5 after a tremendous first season in Pittsburgh.
Though things got off to a rough start in training camp under new offensive line coach Pat Meyer — Daniels looked rather lost and uncomfortable — the veteran hit the ground running in the regular season. He never looked back, turning in quite the season at right guard, solidifying the position moving forward for the Steelers.
Daniels was the best player on an offensive line that absolutely exceeded expectations in 2022. Signed to a three-year deal in free agency, Daniels stepped into the starting right guard job and became the offensive line’s quiet leader, one who led by example and was as consistent as they come in the trenches.
The 24-year-old guard stayed healthy all season, not missing a single snap and playing a key role in the second-half turnaround the offensive line experienced. That led to a step forward in the second half for the offense as a whole and the Steelers went 7-2 down the stretch.
Daniels played 1,160 snaps on the season and allowed just 20 total pressures and zero sacks on 686 pass blocking reps, according to Pro Football Focus, finishing his first season as a Steeler with an overall grade of 67.1. He was a massive upgrade over Trai Turner from the previous season and looks like a huge building block in front of quarterback Kenny Pickett and running back Najee Harris.
No. 4 — Alex Highsmith, OLB
Thanks to a breakout season that saw him put it all together as a pass rusher, Alex Highsmith jumps from No. 7 last season to No. 4 this season and is in line for a lucrative contract extension with the Steelers organization.
Playing on the opposite side of T.J. Watt certainly helps Highsmith, but it came down to the young pass rusher taking advantage of the opportunity last season. He certainly did, recording a career-high 14.5 sacks and a league-leading five forced fumbles. Playing without Watt across from him due to injury, Highsmith recorded just 4.0 sacks in the seven games Watt missed. That’s not a bad number overall and would have put him right around 10.0 sacks on the season if Watt had missed the entire year.
When Watt was in the lineup last season though, Highsmith was a game-wrecker, recording 10.5 of his 14.5 sacks on the season and four of his NFL-leading five forced fumbles on the year. Having a true dominant player like Watt on the field certainly helped Highsmith in terms of attention paid to the other side of the defense.
That’s no disrespect to Highsmith, either. All great pass rushers need help around them. Highsmith is an elite-level Robin, per se, and has really developed quite well in the Steelers’ system, putting together a high-end pass rush arsenal that features a number of impressive moves and countermoves.
He’s only getting better and better. I can’t wait to see what’s in store in 2023.
