When it comes to the Pittsburgh Steelers and their future prospects of competing for a Super Bowl championship under general manager Omar Khan and head coach Mike Tomlin, much of the focus falls on the quarterback position and the outlook for second-year pro Kenny Pickett.
In a quarterback-driven league, a lot of the success — or failure — will depend on Pickett’s overall development and play on the field, right or wrong.
But the good news is that the Steelers have a very strong supporting cast around Pickett, at least right now. That supporting cast features three key building blocks, according to Pro Football Focus’ Brad Spielberger.
That trio? Outside linebacker T.J. Watt, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and wide receiver Diontae Johnson.
Spielberger identified those players Wednesday as the Steelers’ three building blocks moving forward.
“T.J. Watt’s injury in 2022 has caused some to forget just how dominant a player he is when healthy. From 2019-2021, Watt ranked fourth in pass-rush win rate and pressure rate to go along with 118 defensive stops, which led the position over the span. Minkah Fitzpatrick’s playmaking ability in the deep third has helped cover up deficiencies at the cornerback position for a few years now, and he’s coming off a career-best 82.4 overall grade and 83.3 coverage grade in 2022,” Spielberger writes regarding the two key pieces defensively moving forward in Pittsburgh.
Prior to the injury suffered late in the fourth quarter of the Week 1 win, Watt looked like his usual dominant self. He recorded a sack, three tackles for loss and an interception before that ill-fated play in which he tried to sack Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow but slid off as Burrow ducked under, resulting in Watt partially tearing his pectoral, landing him on Injured Reserve.
Watt recorded 29 pressures in the second half of the season, including a season-high six against the Cleveland Browns in Week 18. While he said it took him awhile in his return to really feel like himself, he was still a very good player overall.
When he’s healthy, there are few — if any — pass rushers better than Watt. He’s an absolute game-wrecker, one whom opposing offenses have to game plan around.
Watt has 77.5 career sacks, the most of any NFL player since he joined the league. It’s no surprise that the Steelers’ best stretch of last season came with a healthy Watt. In the 10 games that Watt was healthy, the Steelers won eight and lost only twice. They finished the season with a 9-8 record, meaning that when Watt was sidelined, Pittsburgh was 1-6.
Entering his age-29 season (he turns 29 on Oct. 11), Watt has a chance to break the Steelers’ franchise record for sacks held by James Harrison (80.5). Currently, he’s tied with Joe Greene at 77.5 and sits one sack behind Heyward.
As for Fitzpatrick, he’s unquestionably the best safety in the game.
His IQ is already one of his strengths, but it’s something that he’s emphasized building on to make his game even better. His ball skills are among the best in the NFL, leading the league with six interceptions last season and he’s had at least two every season he’s been in Pittsburgh.
Since coming over from Miami in a trade in 2019, Fitzpatrick has truly transformed the Steelers’ defense.
Offensively, it was a bit of a surprise to see Spielberger highlight Johnson as a building block for the Steelers, though the numbers certainly back it up.
“Diontae Johnson still deals with the occasional drop, but they are more than negated by his acrobatic snags and how consistently he creates separation in the intermediate areas of the field,” Spielberger writes. “Johnson’s 42 missed tackles forced over the past three seasons rank sixth among wide receivers, and he will continue to feast as Pat Freiermuth and George Pickens develop in this offense with quarterback Kenny Pickett.”
While Johnson certainly has some issues with drops and tends to run backwards after the catch at the worst possible times, he gets open at an elite rate. That matters. With a full offseason under his belt with Pickett and hopefully in an offense in Year 3 under offensive coordinator Matt Canada that is opened up a bit more in the passing game, Johnson should be able to get back to his 2021 level of play. He’s a high-caliber receiver overall.
Overall, the Steelers have a good balance on both sides of the ball when it comes to building blocks, like Spielberger highlights. While he kept it to just three, the Steelers have more than that, including outside linebacker Alex Highsmith, rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr., wide receiver George Pickens, tight end Pat Freiermuth, and running back Najee Harris, not to mention a young, rebuilt offensive line.
Pittsburgh’s in good shape.
