The team of Tyler Dunne, Bob McGinn and Jim Monos at Go Long put out their 2023 NFL predictions, and there was a lot of love for the Steelers among the three. All three had Pittsburgh making the playoffs as a wild-card team, with Dunne having the team winning a game in the postseason and making an appearance in the divisional round.
Dunne also has T.J. Watt leading the league in sacks and winning the Defensive Player of the Year award, while naming George Pickens as one of his five breakthrough players of the year. Monos also named Pickens as one of his five breakthrough players, while both Dunne and McGinn have the Steelers as one of the top five teams in fewest yards allowed.
All three had Cincinnati winning the AFC North, with McGinn, a longtime Green Bay Packers beat writer, picking the Bengals to win the Super Bowl over the San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh’s Week One opponent on Sunday. McGinn also picked the Steelers as his most surprising team.
In recent weeks, there’s been more and more buzz among analysts when it comes to the Steelers making the playoffs. You can’t overvalue preseason performance, but the Steelers had a near-perfect preseason, with their starting offense scoring touchdowns on all five drives the unit played and the starting defense not allowing a single point.
While the offense has gotten the attention and its performance is going to be key to just how far the Steelers can go, it’s clear that Pittsburgh’s defense is going to be its strength. That’s backed by Dunne and McGinn picking them as one of the best defenses in the league, and it can’t be overstated enough just how crucial a healthy Watt is going to be for the defense.
They’re a different team with Watt in the fold. Not only is he a game-wrecker himself, but his presence alone opens things up for other guys on defense due to the amount of attention opposing offenses have to pay Watt. He’s going to be a threat for Defensive Player of the Year after winning it in 2021, and Dunne seems to think he’ll put up another monster season in 2023.
As for Pickens, the second-year wideout has created a lot of attention due to his ridiculous catches, but his true growth is going to come in the mundane. Running better routes, expanding the routes he runs and creating after the catch is what the Steelers want to see from him this year. Those are the things that can elevate him into a top receiver and help him break out.
We all know he’s capable of making contested catches and contorting his body to make grabs that seem inhuman. If he can mix that with being an option on slants and hitches and drags, he’s going to have a really impressive season.
If the stars align and Pickens takes a leap alongside QB Kenny Pickett and the defense stays healthy and gets back to being the suffocating unit we know they can be, the Steelers can really make a run. While both McGinn and Monos have Pittsburgh losing in the AFC Wild-Card Round, Dunne has them winning a playoff game and that’s something I really want to see out of this team. It’s as complete as the Steelers have had in years, and if they can get through the AFC North gauntlet to make the postseason, they have to prove they can win when it counts.
That’s the benchmark I want to see this Steelers team hit. While they might not be true Super Bowl contenders just yet, if they prove they can win in the postseason, another year of development and roster-building could elevate them to true contender status next season. Maybe I’m wrong and they’ll be at that level this year — that’s not out of the question with the talent they have — but this is the year the Steelers need to take at least take that next step. Winning a playoff game is going to be paramount for the 2023 Steelers.
