All eyes are on the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis this week as 321 NFL draft hopefuls go through medicals, team interviews and on-field drills under the watchful eyes of NFL evaluators.
It also happens to be silly season as speculation runs rampant across the NFL landscape when it comes to player movement in free agency and via trades. Soon, the endless speculation and rumors will come to a stop, and actual moves will start to occur as free agency is just two weeks away. Until then though, we’re in the dog days of the offseason.
Knowing that, let’s continue rolling right along in my post-season Ranking The Steelers’ Starters series, re-hashing my preseason starters ranking from No. 24-1 for the Black and Gold. Most recently, I looked at No. 15-13.
As a reminder, here’s the list of Steelers’ rankings from No. 24-1 ahead of training camp.
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, RT
No. 16 — Mason Cole, C
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
No. 9 — Najee Harris, RB
No. 8 — Pat Freiermuth, TE
No. 7 — Isaac Seumalo, LG
No. 6 — Diontae Johnson, WR
No. 5 — James Daniels, RG
No. 4 — Alex Highsmith, OLB
No. 3 — Cameron Heyward, DE
No. 2 — T.J. Watt, OLB
No. 1 — Minkah Fitzpatrick, S
Swap out Pressley Harvin III at punter for Mann and Broderick Jones for Chukwuma Okorafor at right tackle as those were really the only changes. I’ll still include Cole Holcomb in the rankings, as he was a starter for more than half of the season before getting hurt and the Steelers didn’t exactly have another linebacker who played starter-level snaps while replacing him.
So far, here is the list for the post-season Steelers’ rankings:
No. 24 — Pressley Harvin III, P
No. 23 — Dan Moore Jr., OT
No. 22 — Mason Cole, C
No. 21 — Levi Wallace, CB
No. 20 — Damontae Kazee, S
No. 19 — Allen Robinson II, WR
No. 18 — Kenny Pickett, QB
No. 17 — Larry Ogunjobi, DE
No. 16 — Patrick Peterson, CB
No. 15 — Broderick Jones, OT
No. 14 — Pat Freiermuth, TE
No. 13 — Cole Holcomb, LB
As the offseason continues, it’s time to look at No. 12-10 in the Ranking The Steelers’ Starters Post-Season Edition.
No. 12 — Cameron Heyward, DE
After landing at No. 3 in last summer’s rankings ahead of training camp and the preseason, Heyward takes a bit of a fall. That is largely due to the health issues Heyward had throughout the 2023 season, missing six games with a groin injury that required surgery early in the season.
Once Heyward returned, he was a solid run defender again, but he wasn’t himself as a pass rusher while largely playing on one leg. He rushed back from a 12-week injury in six weeks simply to put his hand in the pile and help the team compete for a playoff spot, which was very admirable from the captain. But he might have done himself more harm than good physically.
He had another surgery this offseason and will enter the 2024 season at 35 years old. He showed flashes of being himself in the Wild Card loss, which is a positive sign. Hopefully health is on his side next season.
No. 11 — James Daniels, RG
Daniels came in at No. 5 in the rankings entering training camp, and while he was a dependable piece last season at right guard, his play wasn’t worthwhile enough to keep him in the top 10. The Steelers had a lot of issues at right tackle with Chukwuma Okorafor and Broderick Jones, which made it a heavy lift for Daniels playing between a new face in Jones at right tackle and a struggling center in Mason Cole to his left.
Though he was solid in the run game again, Daniels struggled in pass protection, especially late in the season. Daniels allowed 22 pressures and one sack on the season and was called for just three penalties. In Week 15 against the Indianapolis Colts, Daniels had a career-worst 0.0 pass blocking grade from Pro Football Focus.
Hopefully the Steelers can solidify the positions around him and help Daniels get back to his standard level of play.
No. 10 — Elandon Roberts, LB
The biggest mover in the Ranking The Starters series is Elandon Roberts, who jumped up 10 spots to No. 10 after a very good year for the Steelers at the inside linebacker position. He was a free agency signing I was very high on, and it turned out to be one of the Steelers’ best moves of the offseason on the field.
Roberts, despite playing just 50% of the snaps defensively, led the Steelers in tackles with 101 last season. He added 10 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks on the season, too. He was an early-down linebacker when Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander were healthy, coming off the field in passing situations. Against the run, attacking downhill, Roberts was a force, which was expected. He was an effective blitzer, too, finding ways to get home and disrupt the quarterback, and was undoubtedly a tone-setter for the Steelers’ defense with his physicality.
He certainly has some limitations in his game, but he was outstanding in 2023, on and off the field. He stepped up as a key leader of the defense late in the season and is poised for another big year in the Black and Gold.
