When it comes to the Pittsburgh Steelers ahead of the 2024 season, there are some who believe in what they are doing under head coach Mike Tomlin, especially after a busy offseason brought in a bunch of new faces and plugged some holes.
There are others who just can’t see the vision with the Steelers, especially after landing Russell Wilson and Justin Fields at QB this offseason and continuing to beef up the offensive line and the defense as a whole.
With the Steelers, there doesn’t appear to be that big of a swing in the ceiling and floor, though. They’re either a 10- or 11-win team that wins a playoff game, or they’re an eight-or nine-win team that misses the playoffs. No huge swings.
For CBS Sports’ Jeff Kerr, that’s how he sees it with the Black and Gold. In an article for CBS Sports Monday examining the ceiling and floor of all 32 NFL teams, Kerr was right in the same ballpark with the Steelers, good and bad.
As for the ceiling in Kerr’s mind, the Steelers can go as good as 11-6 on the season and win a playoff game.
“The Steelers had a quarterback battle all summer, with Russell Wilson emerging as a starter. Wilson has issues scrambling from the pocket, but he led the league in completion percentage from inside the pocket,” Kerr writes regarding the Steelers’ ceiling for cbssports.com. “Wilson or Justin Fields is an upgrade from last season. The Steelers have playmakers on offense, yet need George Pickers to be that No. 1 wide receiver. Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator is also an upgrade.
“Linebacker Patrick Queen is another playmaker on a good defense with pass rushers T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. is a rising star with Minkah Fitzpatrick the top playmaker in the secondary. Pittsburgh has enough talent to survive the AFC North.”
The Steelers have a lot of good pieces in place, especially on the defensive side of the football. It seems to drive many talking heads nuts that the Steelers are still a defense-focused team, but it’s kept them competitive while they try to figure out the offense.
Entering the 2024 season, the belief is that they have figured out the offense with the hiring of Arthur Smith as the offensive coordinator, the additions of Wilson and Fields under center, and the continued investment in the offensive line with the selections of Troy Fautanu and Zach Frazier in the first two rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Offensively, the Steelers should be much better than they were in the last three years under Matt Canada. Defensively, Pittsburgh has the chance to be special this season with the additions of Queen and cornerback Donte Jackson, pairing with the big names already in place.
That could very easily lead to an 11-6 season and a playoff win under Tomlin, which would be very welcomed in the Steel City.
But from the floor perspective, things could go wrong offensively again for the Steelers, potentially leading to an 8-9 season, which would be the first losing season under Tomlin.
“If Wilson isn’t good enough at quarterback, can Fields salvage the season? How long of a leash will the Steelers give Wilson?” Kerr writes. “The offensive line added Troy Fautanu and Zach Frazier yet is still a work in progress (which could be trouble for Wilson). With Brandon Aiyuk out of the picture, do the Steelers have enough playmakers at receiver? The offense should be better, but quarterback wasn’t the only issue last year.
“In a tough AFC North, Pittsburgh may be the team with the most questions. This team finds ways to have winning seasons, but they could have a losing campaign in 2024.”
It’s certainly fair to have questions about Wilson and Fields. Wilson is on his third team in four seasons, and Fields was traded after just three seasons for a conditional sixth-round pick after being the No. 11 overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Both have their flaws and have things they need to correct. Same for the offensive line that looks better on paper but has struggled at times during training camp and the preseason, raising some concerns.
A lack of talent behind George Pickens at wide receiver is a major concern, too. But the Steelers have that star-studded defense to lean on. It will need the offense to do its part though. If not, the Steelers could really struggle, especially late in the season in the gauntlet of the post-bye portion of the schedule, which could lead to an 8-9 finish and Tomlin’s first losing season.
That seems unlikely, but it can’t be ruled out as a possibility.
