According to nearly all NFL analysts, the Pittsburgh Steelers had one of the best draft classes in the league with the 2024 NFL Draft happening over this past weekend. They had a great intersection of value and need with many of their early picks, and at least four players have a good shot at making an early impact as rookies. That doesn’t seem to be bumping them up the pecking order of the post-draft power rankings, however.
NFL.com’s Eric Edholm released his latest power rankings after doing one following free agency. He moved the Steelers from 14th to 13th in that edition, but had them stay put at No. 13 this time around.
This is right in line with their final placement last season, making the playoffs as the seventh and final seed in the AFC. Here is what Edholm wrote:
“That’s two years in a row where I left the draft thinking the Steelers had a top-five haul. There was a clear emphasis on bolstering the trenches. They possibly came away with two immediate starters on the offensive line in Troy Fautaunu and Zach Frazier, plus an excellent fourth-round depth piece in guard Mason McCormick. The Round 3 Wilson brothers, receiver Roman and linebacker Payton (NOTE: not actually brothers), could end up being great choices, with some luck.
“If I’m being greedy, I might have wanted a little more help on defense, specifically on the line and in the secondary, but holy moly, it felt like Pittsburgh made one strong pick after another throughout. We’ve tossed a few bouquets to the Steelers for their drafts over the years, and to be fair, some of those classes ended up worse than we imagined. But it’s hard right now to view this year’s crop as anything less than inspired.”
One would think that the Steelers’ stellar offseason would bump them up another couple spots. In addition to the QB changes that will have a large effect on the team, they are set to have a new offensive system with Arthur Smith. They also barely lost anybody notable in free agency, and added a couple difference makers on defense in Patrick Queen and DeShon Elliott.
The Steelers followed that up with acing the draft, and finally completed the offensive line rebuild that has been in the works for several seasons.
On the other hand, the Steelers will face one of the toughest schedules in the league in 2024 after facing one of the easiest in 2023, which must be factored in. The AFC North was highly competitive last year, and that was with Joe Burrow and Deshaun Watson being out injured for significant portions of the season. It should once again be one of the toughest divisions in football.
The Steelers are ranked the lowest of the four AFC North teams, with the Baltimore Ravens at No. 3, the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 9, and the Cleveland Browns at No. 12. The Steelers finished second in the division last season and had a 5-1 record with just one loss against the Browns. Some early odds were recently published on who will be the AFC North Champions, and Vegas agrees with the order of these power rankings, having the Steelers with +700 odds behind all three divisional rivals.
