Are the Pittsburgh Steelers on fraud alert? Pro Football Focus’ Trevor Sikkema thinks it is certainly a possibility despite the team’s strong 4-2 start to the season.
On a recent episode of his podcast, The Stock Exchange, with co-host Connor Rogers, Sikkema stated that believes that of the teams currently not set to pick early in the 2025 NFL Draft, that the Steelers may ultimately find themselves there.
“To me they are a team that has the potential to free fall,” Sikkema said. “Not only are they moving to Russ [Wilson], which I think is a bad idea, their offensive line is really beat up. You’re putting Russ, a non-mobile quarterback, behind a bad offensive line now in an offense that can’t get any pass catchers going outside of George Pickens, and now you got issues with George Pickens.”
Sikkema went on to raise an eyebrow at the team’s play at linebacker and the secondary, saying there have been consistency issues within each position group.
The expected quarterback change from Justin Fields to Russell Wilson has been well-documented to this point. Whether it will be positive or negative is yet to be seen, but one thing is for sure, the Steelers will take a step back in the quarterback run game. This is not to say that Wilson will be a statue at quarterback. Even at the ripe age of 35, Wilson can and will escape from pressure. However, he’s no Fields, who has been a top rusher at his position since entering the league in 2021.
That figures to pose an issue for a patched-together offensive line. So far this season, four of the Steelers’ five starters have missed time due to injury with James Daniels and Troy Fautanu being put on season-ending injured reserve. Zach Frazier, while not as seriously injured, is the latest on the walking wounded list, already being ruled out for Sunday night due to an ankle injury. Less mobility, plus a beat-up offensive line may not bode well for the Steelers going forward.
Despite playing, in my opinion, his best game last Sunday, Patrick Queen has struggled at linebacker. He’s posted a mere 48.5 overall PFF grade this season, particularly struggling against the run with a 40.4 grade. Payton Wilson has been better at a 65.8 but is still growing as a rookie.
The secondary has been middle-of-the-pack so far, allowing 208 passing yards per game, good for 13th in the NFL, so I won’t pay much mind to that mention.
Sikkema did highlight the strength of the Steelers being the defensive line and was quick to mention that this is not a knock on the team overall, just of the upcoming problems he foresees with the team.
After a bye in three weeks, Pittsburgh’s schedule ranks as the toughest in the league with its entire divisional games slated as well as matchups against the Chiefs and Eagles. A tough road certainly lies ahead for the Steelers, and only time will tell if they “free fall.”
