My ballot for the Steelers Depot end-of-season awards has a twist. I explain my picks in five words or less while also giving some related awards. Others have already provided in-depth reasoning for most of the choices I made — check out their picks below if you haven’t done so already — so I kept it short and sweet.
Offensive MVP: RB Jaylen Warren.
Someone had to win it.
The Who Award: Warren seemingly came out of nowhere in 2022 to make the Steelers as an undrafted free agent and has since established himself as a player they can build around on offense. He is a pinball wizard, bouncing off would-be tacklers when he is not running over them. After going over 1,000 yards from scrimmage this season, it looks like Warren is just getting started. Who knew?
Defensive MVP: OLB T.J. Watt.
Duh.
Rodney Dangerfield Award: Where is the (leaguewide) respect after Watt did everything this season, including leading the NFL with 19 sacks? It seems like a fait accompli that Browns DE Myles Garrett will win the 2023 Defensive Player of the Award. Will Watt even finish second? It is a shame even to pose that question. Maybe Watt is a victim of his own greatness; what he does is now expected. I do know this: statistics > analytics.
Rookie of the Year: CB Joey Porter Jr.
Nice try, Keeanu Benton.
Home Depot Award: GM Omar Khan and assistant GM Andy Wiedl get this for putting together a heck of a draft class to build upon in their first year together. Kudos for standing pat at the top of the second round — they probably could have gotten a nice haul in return for the pick — and taking Porter. Later in the round, they picked another player who looks like he will be a cornerstone of the defense for years to come in Benton. Imagine if seventh-round pick Cory Trice Jr. can put his injury issues behind him and emerge as a quality starting cornerback opposite Porter.
Biggest Surprise: QB Mason Rudolph.
Saved Steelers and his career.
Crystal Ball Award. This one goes to…Chris Hoke. The former Steelers nose tackle banged the table all season for Rudolph. Consistently said on various KDKA-TV (and other) platforms that the Steelers’ best quarterback was the guy who couldn’t even get a gameday helmet for most of the season. We know what happened after Rudolph finally got his chance. And no one looked smarter than Hoke after what Rudolph did with that opportunity.
Biggest Disappointment: S Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Not himself, even when healthy.
Most Underrated: LB Elandon Roberts.
Glue guy on M*A*S*H defense.
Play of the Year: QB Kenny Pickett’s 41-yard TD pass to WR George Pickens.
Beat Ravens’ varsity squad.
Del Griffith Award: Pickens wins this for the other side of his feast-or-famine season. In the classic 1980s movie Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, John Candy (Griffith) and Steve Martin’s characters were driving down a one-way street when a passing motorist called out, “You’re going the wrong way!” Griffith’s response? “How would he know where we’re going?” I think of that every time I see a play from the game that Pickens seemed determined to turn into a meme. Where was he going after a Mitch Trubisky interception and subsequent return by Colts safety Julian Blackmon? The wondrously talented Pickens seemed to find his way after that game. Fingers crossed.
Coach of the Year: Eddie Faulkner
Jaylen. Warren. Najee. Harris.
Kalen DeBoer Award: Just like the poor guy who has to follow Nick Saban at Alabama, Faulkner’s timing did him no favors. The offense, as a whole, looked better after he took its reins following the in-season firing of Matt Canada. That, coupled with his work as the Steelers’ running backs coach, would have gotten him consideration for the vacant OC job most years. But after in-house hirings of Randy Fichtner and Canada, the Steelers have to go outside for their next offensive coordinator. And you can bet that if Mike Tomlin had any inkling of hiring from within, Art Rooney II put the kibosh on that real quick.
2024 Player to Watch: Broderick Jones
Alpha dog waiting to happen.
Best Addition: Elandon Roberts
Who yawned when he signed?
Eye of the Tiger Award: Â 1980s hit song — good gravy, I keep dating myself — was sung by Survivor, which is fitting. Roberts was the last man standing among the three linebackers the Steelers brought in after getting little from that position group in 2022. He played hungry, he played hurt, and he stabilized inside linebacker after Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander went down with season-ending injuries in back-to-back weeks. You could make a strong argument that Roberts was as valuable as any Steelers defensive player not named T.J. Watt in 2023.
Most Notable Storyline: Steelers getting no closer to knowing if Kenny Pickett can be a franchise QB.
Tops the organization’s to-do list.
Most Missed: CB Cam Sutton
JPJ-Sutton pairing wouldn’t have sucked.
