Even after a rather thrilling offseason that saw the Pittsburgh Steelers make a number of moves to upgrade key positions, their roster remains one that sits in the middle of the NFL pack, at least according to Pro Football Focus.
In a piece Wednesday morning for PFF.com, the Steelers were No. 16 in the roster rankings from Jim Wyman and Dalton Wasserman. The Steelers are PFF’s lowest-ranked team in the AFC North with Baltimore at No. 5, Cincinnati at No. 8, and Cleveland at No. 12.
Currently, Pittsburgh has an over/under of 7.5 wins, a mark that both Wyman and Wasserman expect the Steelers to easily surpass, even with them having a middle-of-the-pack roster.
“The Steelers earned a wild-card spot in the NFL’s toughest division last season despite dealing with issues at quarterback and offensive line throughout the season. While the AFC North didn’t get any easier, the Steelers should be improved on offense, regardless of who wins the starting quarterback job,” PFF writes. “Even if the offense doesn’t improve as the team hopes, the defense should be good enough to win them some games that they probably shouldn’t.”
The Steelers made some significant improvements to the roster after reaching the playoffs as a Wild Card team last year. After struggling through a season with Kenny Pickett and Mitch Trubisky and then getting a boost from Mason Rudolph late in the year, the Steelers completely overhauled their quarterback room.
Gone are Pickett, Trubisky and Rudolph. In are Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and Kyle Allen.
On paper, that’s a much better QB room with a higher overall ceiling than what the Steelers had been working with.
For Pittsburgh’s chances of success this season, it will come down to who the starter is under center. For Wyman and Wasserman, whoever wins the starting QB job will be the biggest “X-factor” for the Steelers.
“Mike Tomlin’s decision on whom to go with this season will be huge toward the Steelers’ chances of making a postseason return,” PFF writes.
For now, Wilson is the starter for the Steelers. Many have reported it’s not a QB competition between Wilson and Fields, but that seems a bit silly, especially after what the Steelers have gone through the last two years under center. Time will tell when it comes to the “competition” and who the starter is at QB.
Outside of the QB room, the Steelers brought in standout linebacker Patrick Queen to bolster the inside linebacker position after that group was decimated by injuries last season. Then, the Steelers drafted Payton Wilson in the third round.
Pittsburgh also shored up its offensive line in a big way, landing Troy Fautanu, Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick in the 2024 NFL Draft, completing a rebuild in the trenches that took a few years.
Addressing the offensive line the way the Steelers and GM Omar Khan and assistant GM Andy Weidl did this offseason should strengthen a unit that was considered the weakest part of the Steelers’ roster in 2023.
Add Arthur Smith as the new offensive coordinator with two strong running backs in Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren to work with, there are the nuts and bolts of a good offense in Pittsburgh.
Defensively, Pittsburgh should once again be stout, thanks to one of the league’s best pass rushes, led by T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith off the edge. The addition of Queen was a huge one, and landing Wilson in the draft was a heist for the Steelers.
Cornerback and safety remain areas of concern from a depth standpoint, but the Steelers seem to like the pieces they have in place and believe in their fit within the defense.
Really, there are only two holes to be concerned about on the roster, that being WR2 and CB depth behind Joey Porter Jr. and Donte Jackson. Overall, Khan, Weidl and the rest of the Steelers’ front office have put together a strong roster, one that should be higher in the rankings.
