The Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense has long been a strength of the team, and the group got even better this offseason with the addition of Patrick Queen at inside linebacker. Queen was an All-Pro in 2023 and joins a defense that features fellow All-Pros in Cameron Heyward, T.J. Watt, and Minkah Fitzpatrick. The addition of Queen was a big one in the eyes of Marcus Mosher of The 33rd Team. Queen’s addition caused the Steelers to jump “way up” on Mosher’s list of the top defensive cores in football, as Pittsburgh ranked fifth in the league with their core of Watt, Queen, and Fitzpatrick.
“The Pittsburgh Steelers jump way up on this list after signing Patrick Queen earlier this offseason. While it remains to be seen how he fits in Mike Tomlin’s defense, Queen had the best season of his career in 2023. He should be a major upgrade over Elandon Roberts, Cole Holcomb, and Myles Jack, who were Pittsburgh’s top three linebackers last year. T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick are All-Pro players (when healthy) and have a strong track record of producing turnovers. Pittsburgh leans on its defense to win games, and why wouldn’t you with this unit? The Steelers are strong at every spot and have plenty of star power with Watt, Queen, and Fitzpatrick,” Mosher writes.
The knock on Queen is that his career never took off until playing next to Roquan Smith, but Teryl Austin shot down that notion in his press conference on Wednesday and praised Queen for being “sharp” and also officially revealed that he’ll wear the green dot for the Steelers.
Pittsburgh’s defense was also plenty talented, but adding Queen gives them a legitimate playmaker in the middle of the defense and someone who can also help take some pressure off everyone else. In particular, Queen’s presence can allow Fitzpatrick to play more of a deep safety role and not have to worry about playing as much in the box or the slot, while Watt is a true game-wrecker and arguably the best defensive player in football, and I’d argue that he is.
It’s a core that can take over games, and even without Queen, Pittsburgh’s defense dragged some bad offenses to the playoffs in recent seasons. The defense got better by adding Queen and DeShon Elliott, as well as continuing to add at cornerback with Donte Jackson and Cameron Sutton, but the improvement of Pittsburgh’s offense really raises the ceiling of the team this season. Regardless, this team is going to be led by their defense, and it really should be one of the best units in football, top to bottom.
Pittsburgh’s core ranked behind the New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, and Kansas City Chiefs, and you could really argue that they deserve to be ahead of at least the Browns and Chiefs, who ranked No. 3 and No. 4 on the list, respectively. But it’s inarguable that it’s a really talented group that’s going to lead the Steelers this season, and contributions from guys who weren’t a part of the three-man “core” like Heyward, Joey Porter Jr., and Alex Highsmith should also make the Steelers defense one of the best in football.
It’s going to be a fun group to watch, and if the offense can improve on the field the way they look to have improved on paper, the Steelers could be a much better team than they have been over the past few seasons.
