The Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense isn’t perfect but considering how much they’ve had to carry the team during the last few years, they deserve all the credit in the world. The Steelers’ offense has been abysmal since 2019 and has only gotten worse since Ben Roethlisberger retired. In that timespan, the Steelers’ defense has willed them to wins, led by a ferocious pass rush. It seems all that heavy lifting has earned that unit serious recognition as well, with one prominent analyst labeling them as third best in the NFL.
Warren Sharp is a data analyst for his website Sharp Football Analysis. Recently, he ranked every front seven in the NFL on his Twitter, with the Steelers coming in at number three. Number two is the San Francisco 49ers and number one is the Cleveland Browns. While Sharp seems to hold the Steelers’ unit in high regard, it will no doubt still sting fans that he has the Browns higher.
In his new book, Sharp revealed his ranking for every level of the Steelers’ offense and defense, and it will come as no shock that their front seven received the best rank. Sharp only wrote a small blurb on why he ranked them that highly, but it’s still impactful.
“The strength of Pittsburgh’s defense is its pass rush, which generated pressure in 2.5 seconds or less on 28.1% of dropbacks, the league’s third-best rate,” Sharp wrote.
The speed with which the Steelers got after the quarterback in 2023 was impressive, but it could be better in 2024. Last year, Cam Heyward suffered an injury in Week 1 and did not look like himself when he returned. Previously, Heyward had been one of the most reliable pieces of the Steelers’ defense, both in rushing the passer and stopping the run. While he may be getting older, he should be much better this year, even if he isn’t as dominant as he used to be.
It also isn’t any slight to be ranked third-best among the entire NFL. The 49ers’ defense has been one of the best overall units in the league for several years now, with their secondary and linebackers being stronger than the Steelers. They also lost several prominent rotational pieces of their defense, like Chase Young and Javon Kinlaw, so they may even take a step back in 2024.
The Browns’ defense also took a significant jump with Jim Schwartz as their defensive coordinator last year and should be bringing back most of the same players. They also spent a second-round pick on Michael Hall Jr., a talented defensive tackle out of Ohio State, so they could manage to inject some youth into that group as well. It’s likely that the Browns and Steelers will be fighting throughout the season to have one of the NFL’s top defenses, with their units up front leading the way.
The Steelers shouldn’t have to rely on their defense as much this year as they have previously. But if they do, expect their front seven to be just as lethal. T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith are arguably the best edge rusher duo in the league. Larry Ogunjobi and Keeanu Benton should form a formidable threat up the middle with a healthy Heyward. All that, along with the continued development of rotational pieces like Nick Herbig, should continue to keep the Steelers as one of the NFL’s best defenses. If they want to win a Super Bowl though, they might need to take that top spot from the Browns.
