With the first week and a half of free agency in the books, the Pittsburgh Steelers were aggressive in adding pieces on both sides of the ball to fill immediate needs and upgrade the team. The complete overhaul of the quarterback room paired with the new offensive system should transform the product that the Steelers exhibit on offense, and making the biggest free agency signing in the history of the franchise at inside linebacker fills a need that has existed since 2017 when Ryan Shazier suffered a career-ending injury.
Pro Football Focus released a list of positive takeaways for each NFL team, and it likes how the Steelers attacked these major weaknesses to upgrade both the offense and the defense.
“The Steelers finished 2023 with major deficiencies at quarterback, along the offensive line, and at linebacker,” PFF’s Dalton Wasserman wrote. “They’ve managed to add productive players at two of those three spots in free agency.”
Other than a game or two each by Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph, the Steelers quarterbacks graded out very poorly by PFF last season, and both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields represent upgrades over both.
“Wilson is presumed to be the starter and played good football last year, finishing 18th among qualified quarterbacks,” Wasserman wrote. “Fields’ exploits as a runner are well-documented, and he’s as talented a backup as a team could have.”
In a 2023 season where 66 different quarterbacks started around the league, including three for the Steelers, they not only upgraded the starting position, but insulated against injury and provided some vastly different skill sets than the team previously had.
They also upgraded the quarterback of the defense with the addition of Patrick Queen. The Steelers entered the 2023 season with a pretty solid plan at ILB, but injuries derailed that plan and turned the position into a weak link on the defense. They will still have Elandon Roberts, who really stabilized the group over the back half of the season despite his own injury issues. Cole Holcomb will hopefully be back at some point in the season, though his knee injury was significant and his availability at the start of the season seems up in the air. He was recently seen working out at Bommarito in Florida, which is a positive sign.
“The Steelers also added a leader on the defensive side,” Wasserman wrote. “Patrick Queen arrives from Baltimore as a young, ascending player who will immediately improve a subpar linebacker group. Since Week 5 of 2022…Steelers linebackers own the third-worst overall grade in the NFL.”
The defense held up tremendously well given all the injuries and rough play at inside linebacker. Queen gives the defense a chance to be as complete of a unit as it’s been in many years. Despite the issues and rash of injuries at ILB and S, the Steelers finished the 2023 season with the seventh-fewest points allowed per game.
They also added a cornerback in Donte Jackson, but at the expense of making wide receiver a glaring need with Diontae Johnson being traded for him. Jackson adds some much-needed speed in the secondary, and he is at least an upgrade over Levi Wallace as a stopgap while the Steelers find a long-term solution opposite Joey Porter Jr.
The last need that PFF listed, offensive line, will undoubtedly be a top priority in the upcoming draft. The Steelers currently have no clear option at center, and the position is running thin in available free agents. The team’s best option may be to reunite with Mason Cole to allow whichever rookie the Steelers draft some time to acclimate.
