The Steelers’ offseason brought quite a bit of anticipation, excitement and optimism as the roster was reshaped under GM Omar Khan, putting the team in seemingly a better position to compete for not only an AFC North division title in 2024, but potentially a Super Bowl as well.
Names like Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, DeShon Elliott, Donte Jackson, Troy Fautanu, Zach Frazier and Roman Wilson were brought in via free agency, trades or the 2024 NFL Draft, as was offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, giving Pittsburgh a competent coordinator on that side of the football for the first time in nearly a decade.
But even with all those reasons for optimism, there remain some reasons for concern with the Steelers ahead of the 2024 season.
For Pro Football Focus’s Steve Palazzolo and Sam Monson, those concerns center on Russell Wilson and Justin Fields at quarterback, not to mention the dynamic with Smith as the play caller. Defensively, questions in the secondary are the biggest concern for the Steelers from PFF’s point of view.
“Russell Wilson, Justin Fields generally, right, we’ve complimented good process in getting there, paying them pennies on the dollar relative to other quarterback rooms. However, that still might not matter in wins and losses because we’re still talking about two quarterbacks who, if you were stacking them up against the rest of the NFL, probably rank in the 20s, they’re in the bottom half of the league rather than the top half of the league,” Palazzolo said of the Steelers’ QB room as a cause for concern. “So, the rest of the roster’s gonna have to overcome that, unless you get Russell Wilson back to what he was or Justin Fields to what people thought he could be, in addition to the receiver room kind of being depleted, right?”
As has been stated all offseason, the Steelers did quite well to land Wilson in free agency on a one-year, $1.21 million deal — the veteran minimum — after the Denver Broncos released him. A few days later, with Kenny Pickett wanting out, the Steelers acquired Fields from the Chicago Bears for a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Pennies on the dollar for both quarterbacks, who are quite talented but have run into some adversity in recent years.
Though the Steelers have seemingly upgraded at the position after two years of Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph, it might not move the needle overall from the NFL standpoint as Wilson and Fields aren’t exactly elite-level signal-callers.
They might not need to be in Pittsburgh though based on how things are built around them with a star-studded defense and a running game that should be among the best in the NFL. However, there are concerns at the receiver position, too. Palazzolo called the Steelers’ wide receiver room one of the “worst” they have had in a few years after trading Diontae Johnson and not properly replacing him — yet.
From an optimistic standpoint, the offense that Wilson and/or Fields is stepping into under Smith plays to both of their strengths. They’ll be able to lean on a strong run game behind a rebuilt, talented offensive line.
George Pickens looks like the next star at receiver and ascends into the WR1 role for the Black and Gold this season, and they have a dynamic tight end in Pat Freiermuth, who — if he can stay healthy — should have a monster season for Pittsburgh. The offense the Steelers are set to run under Smith should remind many of the offense that Wilson had so much success in during his days in Seattle.
But for Monson, it could go either way. It could either be the best offense to get the best out of Wilson, or it might be the worst, leading to Wilson playing out of structure and causing the Steelers to struggle drastically.
“It could end up being really positive and actually Arthur Smith’s offense is the perfect system for Russell Wilson to get the best version of him out of whatever’s left to get the best version of it. But if it goes south, there is that world where it is actually the worst possible offense you could plug Russell Wilson into,” Monson said. “And we’ve already seen previously that if you put him into a system that he’s not happy with or that is not designed to kind of hide his flaws and play to his strengths, it can look terrible.
“So if that happens and suddenly you’ve got this world where designed plays over the middle for Quez Watkins, and instead Russell Wilson turns down two open guys tries to escape and heave an ill-conceived deep ball downfield for George Pickens in double coverage. Doesn’t feel like it’s gonna go great.”
That’s the worst-case scenario for the Steelers’ offense.
For the Steelers to be successful offensively in 2024, Wilson is going to need to play within structure, take advantage of the play-action passing game, utilize the middle of the field and really trust what is designed. Of course, you don’t want to pull the reins on him and keep him within structure entirely, considering some of his best work comes when the plays break down. But you don’t want him freelancing constantly and playing backyard football all the time.
There has to be a rhythm offensively. Wilson knows this. He’s in the best spot he’s been in since his final few seasons in Seattle and seems like a great fit for not only Smith, but the Steelers’ offense as whole.
There’s a lot of optimism, but it’s important to temper expectations and not expect peak Russell Wilson in 2024 and beyond.
Defensively, depth issues at cornerback are a huge concern for the Steelers behind Joey Porter Jr. and Donte Jackson. Pittsburgh is perilously thin there currently, and that feels like a position that will need to be addressed before training camp, whether that’s a reunion with Cameron Sutton or re-signing Patrick Peterson.
Palazzolo stated that it’s “not a great cornerback room on paper” which is an understatement. The Steelers need help there, period.
Address that before the season, and that concern should go away. If not, entering Week 1 with the cornerback room looking the way it does is a massive concern for the Black and Gold.
