Well, we have reached the long, slow time of the offseason between mandatory minicamp and the start of training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe in late July for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Good news is, we have plenty of content here at Steelers Depot for you all to indulge in between now and the start of a much-anticipated training camp.
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.Â
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, RTÂ
No. 16 — Mason Cole, CÂ
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
Let’s dive into the next trio of starters in the series, highlight No. 9-7.
No. 9 — Najee Harris, RB
Entering his third season in the NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris has a chance to accomplish something only a handful of running backs have done in league history:Â rush for 1,000 yards in each of their first three seasons.
Harris rushed for 1,200 yards as a rookie and then 1,034 last season, holding down the No. 1 job in Pittsburgh under head coach Mike Tomlin.
The two 1,000-yard seasons to open his career make him one of just 75 backs in NFL history to accomplish that feat, yet concerns surround Harris moving forward due to the inefficiency of his production. Harris, it’s widely believed, is more of a product of volume, rather than skill when it comes to the raw stats.
Even with the production coming the last two seasons due to volume rather than efficiency, I am rather high on Harris entering Year 3. The Steelers beefed up the offensive line again this offseason, and the rushing attack in Pittsburgh was very good down the stretch in the second half of the season, which corresponded with Harris getting healthy and really leaning into his 235-pound frame as a punishing runner, rather than a guy looking to make guys miss.
It seems to be a bit popular currently to be out on Harris and not view him as a high-end caliber running back, but I’ll do no such thing here. He’s going to have a huge breakout season in 2023 and look like that franchise building block the Steelers envisioned when they selected him in the first round in 2021.
No. 8 — Pat Freiermuth, TE
On the verge of history, Pat Freiermuth has emerged as one of the better pass-catching tight ends in football.
In his first two seasons, Freiermuth has hauled in 123 passes for 1,229 yards and nine touchdowns. That included a stellar rookie season in 2021 with Ben Roethlisberger under center, hauling in 60 passes for 497 yards and seven touchdowns. In Year 2, Freiermuth increased his receptions to 63 and yards to 732, but the touchdowns didn’t follow as the Steelers had some struggles in the red zone offensively.
That doesn’t take away from the consistency that Freiermuth has put on display in his first two seasons. He’s a trusty tight end, one who catches anything in his vicinity, serving as that true security blanket fir his quarterback. While his blocking is passable, it’s certainly not a strength of his game. With rookie Darnell Washington now in the fold, that likely takes away some of Freiermuth’s responsibilities as an in-line blocker, which could free up Freiermuth even more as a receiver.
Should he crack 60+ receptions for a third season in a row, he’ll have the NFL record all to himself. That type of season could certainly push him closer to the top 5, though the top 3 are already set in stone with Kansas City’s Travis Kelce, San Francisco’s George Kittle and Baltimore’s Mark Andrews.
Blocking remains a bit of an issue overall for Freiermuth, so if he can show improvements there in 2023 in his third season in the NFL, he will climb the charts in this series once again.
No. 7 — Isaac Seumalo, LG
Pittsburgh did a fantastic job going out in free agency and stealing Isaac Seumalo away from the Philadelphia Eagles after he put together a dominant 2022 season, helping Philadelphia reach the Super Bowl with one of the best rushing attacks in the NFL.
Seumalo, in some instances, has been viewed as that sort of missing piece for the Steelers’ offensive line, which has undergone a significant transformation the last two offseasons. Ahead of the 2022 season, the Steelers signed right guard James Daniels and center Mason Cole in free agency, giving Pittsburgh two solid, dependable starters.
While Seumalo played right guard last season for the Eagles and was an essential part of Philadelphia’s offensive attack on a run to the Super Bowl, Seumalo has more than 2,000 career snaps at left guard. That makes him a seamless fit at the position in the Steel City.
The Steelers certainly got better with the signing of Seumalo. He is exactly the type of player this team needed up front. He’s a big, physical offensive lineman who brings some nastiness to the run game, something the Steelers really needed inside as Cole and Daniels — while good players in their own right — don’t really bring that to the table.
Seumalo will be a key piece to the Steelers’ success in the trenches in 2023 and beyond, and will pair with Daniels to solidify the guard position in Pittsburgh for the foreseeable future.
