The Pittsburgh Steelers undoubtedly upgraded key parts of the team’s roster during the offseason. They added veteran Super Bowl-winning QB Russell Wilson and a young quarterback with plenty of athletic potential, Justin Fields. They added dynamic LB Patrick Queen and proven veteran S DeShon Elliott.
Heck, the Steelers even added an infusion of youth to the offensive line by spending three picks on linemen in the 2024 NFL Draft. There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about the Steelers.
But there are a lot of reasons to be concerned about the Steelers as well. Can Wilson recover his form from his Seattle Seahawks days and stay healthy after hurting his calf? Can the Steelers unlock Fields’ potential? Will Van Jefferson recapture his rookie promise to help solidify the wide receiver spot behind George Pickens? With all those questions, where do the Steelers stack up against the rest of the NFL?
“The Steelers were going to be tricky for me to project heading into this season prior to Russell Wilson’s calf barking early in camp,” Eric Edholm wrote in his NFL power rankings for NFL.com, where he had the Steelers ranked 13th. “Even if he returns to full speed, those soft-tissue things can linger, and Justin Fields isn’t just your garden-variety backup… Really, both have to play better than they did a year ago, especially Fields if he gets a shot.”
The quarterback situation has the potential to make or break the Steelers. Pittsburgh made it to the playoffs despite sub-par quarterback play for three-fourths of the season. But the Steelers have a much more difficult schedule this season. They will need either Wilson or Fields to take command of offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s offense and score more points than last year to make it back to the playoffs in 2024.
Edholm mentioned that both Smith and head coach Mike Tomlin dealt with less-than-ideal quarterback situations in 2023. It hammers home the point that they need to figure it out for the Steelers to have the best chance at a good season in 2024.
“Are the rest of the supporting pieces strong enough for Pittsburgh to withstand more offensive questions and still make a run for the postseason?” Edholm wrote. “In this division? That’s really my biggest hang-up.”
And Edholm raises one of the biggest questions facing the Steelers in 2024. The team traded away established veteran WR Diontae Johnson early in the offseason. They opted for quantity in terms of replacing him, bringing in players like Jefferson, Quez Watkins, and Scotty Miller, and even drafting Roman Wilson in the third round. Jefferson has reportedly impressed so far in camp, but the Steelers have been linked with San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk all offseason. That shows the team isn’t necessarily happy with their dept chart even at this point of the offseason.
As for the division, the AFC North sent three teams to the playoffs last season. The Steelers and the Cleveland Browns both made it as wild cards, while the Baltimore Ravens won the division. Only the Cincinnati Bengals failed to make the playoffs, and that was due in large part to QB Joe Burrow’s injury.
And Edholm is a big fan of the division as a whole. The Steelers were the lowest-ranked AFC North team at 13. The Browns were just ahead of the Steelers at 12, the Bengals snuck into the Top 10 at ninth, and the Ravens were ranked third.
So the Steelers are slightly above average in Edholm’s view, but they’re still at the bottom of the division. That illustrates just how tough a situation the Steelers are in for 2024. Tomlin needs to have one of his best coaching performances to date to make this season successful.
