Welcome back to your Pittsburgh Steelers mailbag. As always, we’re here for the next hour to answer whatever is on your mind.
To your questions!
Stephen Jacobson: Hey Alex! Love your work. If you were a betting man, who do you believe the Pittsburgh Steelers starting quarterback will be next year? Thanks
Alex: Early favorite guess is Justin Fields. On a two-year deal worth I dunno, 30-40 million total. Cheaper, can evaluate him while still having an eye for franchise options in 2026, will boost your running game, and he seemed coachable in Arthur Smith’s system. A second-year of those guys together instead of everyone being brand new will help. That’s my guess and best plan of a situation without easy answers.
Brian Tollini:
AK-
We must soldier on….
Rank these issues of the current Pittsburgh Steeler organization from largest to smallest
A. Post-Ben QB search
B. Sub-par drafting (Claypool, Bush, Edmunds, etc)
C. Inability to develop young players (Broderick, Leal, Dotson, etc.)
D. In-game coaching (clock management, challenges, when/when not to be aggressive)
E. Pre-game coaching (game plans, preparation, player accountability)
F. Old-school organizational philosophies (anti-analytics, lack of guaranteed 2nd year money, UDFA bonues etc.)
G. Identity/directionless (Who we want to be Vs. who we are)
Alex: Oh man, big question there. Just off the top of my head.
1. A
2. G
3. B
4. C
5. E
6. F
7. D
Just a rough thought top of my head. Those all hit the big points of the core issues. Quarterback obviously is always the big thing. Find that, everything else becomes easier. But I think there’s still a lack of identity and vision matching personnel. Pittsburgh has an idea of who they want to be but they haven’t been that smashmouth/bully ball team on the field.
Drafting has not been great. Maybe not miserable but their last cornerstone first round pick was T.J. Watt in 2017. That’s been too long. And they’ve had some meager/bad picks since they have really hurt a franchise built around and through the draft. That gets tied to development of young guys and not maximizing them. And so-on from there.
Everything you list is an issue and I don’t want to minimize the ones at the bottom but the top are the core building block type of stuff.
John Franks:
Hey Alex, appreciate the time and effort you put into your articles and analysis, it is very informative and educational. I didn’t think about it until after the game to watch and I don’t have a way of re-watching the games, but did the Steelers use more of a 3 down lineman approach in the game? If not why wouldn’t that be a strategy, and if so what in the world happened?
Also, is Pat Freiermuth really a long term number 1 TE solution? I just don’t see what he does well, he isn’t a competitive inline blocker, he isn’t athletic enough to consistently get separation and he isn’t physical enough to bully tacklers like we saw from a lot of TE last weekend. Maybe it is recency bias, but he just seems meh
Alex: Thanks John! Per our charting they were in…(of 72 total defensive snaps)
Nickel/Nickel Variation: 29 snaps
3-4/3-4 Variation: 24 snaps
Goal Line: 8 snaps
4-4: 5 snaps
1-5-5/Bronco Package: 4 snaps
3-5: 1 snap
Dime: 1 snap
So yeah, a fair amount of nickel. But it’s important to note much of it was “big nickel,” their three-safety package they use against 12 personnel. Which they use against Baltimore all the time to defend Likely/Andrews. So it’s more than just traditional nickel. And we can debate about it but I’m not surprised nor that upset by its usage. Schematic advantages to playing that. Rolling more safeties down, having more speed, avoid bumping out an EDGE if a TE is displaced.
And nothing really worked. They didn’t stop the run out of any front. Nothing seemed to work.
Yeah, Freiermuth is a fine No. 1. He’s not super high-end or dynamic but I have no problem with him as a No. 1, especially with a blocker like Darnell Washington. If this was a heavier 11 personnel offense, Freiermuth’s meh-blocking could be a bigger problem that the team was able to hide easier. He’s a good tight end and I have no issue with him as their No. 1.
Ben Saluri: Other than stating the obvious needs, I think left gaurd is a underrated need along with a true nose tackle..thoughts?
Alex: Nah, I don’t think it’s needed. Remember Seumalo partially tore his pec to begin the year and probably was never 100-percent. It wasn’t a good way to begin the year. I don’t think Seumalo was anything more than average but I’m not looking to replace.
Nose tackle is interesting. I really like Benton but they also gotta get back to kicking butt and being more physical against the run.
Prima Ballerina: Any significance to the fact that Ciara never sang the Anthem at Acrisure this year?
Alex: I’ll diligently research the case and get back to you.
UmpRay:
Two questions:
1. Do we draft a running back in the first four rounds this year to replace Najee (assuming he leaves). If so do you prefer a Warren clone or a speed guy like Achane?
2. How would you find the QB of future for the Steelers if you were the GM?? a). Bold trade to draft in top 5 b.) roll the dice mid to late round QB prospect c.) Continue to try and hit the lottery with a vet retread.
Alex: Free agency muddies the picture but I think a mid-round pick will produce a running back. So I’ll say yes. They only draft power backs. Big, tough mudders. We’ll see if they change the approach. Haven’t had much success with small and speed (Rainey, Archer, McFarland). I’d be okay with a Warren type of clone but Dulac hinted at someone with more speed; perhaps to work outside zone better go gain the edge.
It’s tough. They’ve tried a lot of doors. I think what will ultimately be the answer is a high pick through the draft. If you want the commonality for most teams, they were first round picks. Now, I don’t think it has to be a top-five pick and I’ve repeatedly in the past pointed to examples of not needing a top-three pick to find a franchise QB. Mahomes, Lamar, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, they weren’t those guys. But I’m not going to hope to find the next Purdy either.
Their next franchise QB will need to be a college QB they use a first round pick on. And so while they tried that with Pickett and failed, the only solution is to keep trying again. Doesn’t mean it has to happen in this draft and probably won’t for a lack of options but that is the path they have to eventually hit on.
Peter-Petersen: Alex, who are you cutting. I mean I know you like to say all is well, but honestly Minkah, Queen, Terrell Austin and Mike Tomlin can’t be all goood enough to not be cut.
Alex: I’m not saying all is well. It’s definitely not. But I’m not going to destroy the entire roster. There’s still an overreaction that’s easy to fall into. They just signed Queen, extended Tomlin so those guys simply aren’t going to be removed from the roster.
In terms of cuts, it’s the Larry Ogunjobi types. I wouldn’t pick up his roster bonus. Ditto Cole Holcomb coming off the injury but that one is kinda obvious/easy. It’s less about cutting more than it is not bringing back some FAs, developing the young guys, and adding well.
I do think OL Coach Pat Meyer should go. They gotta get that hire right and their failures at that spot are huge and not discussed enough.
Sunshine State Steel: I’ve read some interesting articles on here this year about what some players did while on IR (Cameron Johnston, Willie Colon when he was a Steeler) and it made me wonder what do players on IR generally have to do? Especially if it’s something long-term like Cole Holcomb’s injury. Do they have to attend meetings or home games, do they have to work out (as much as they’re able) at a Steelers facility, do they have to contribute in some way like with game planning? Do they even have to live in the area or can they go to another state to recover and rehab?
Alex: Those articles probably provided better insight than I can. I’m sure it varies some. But yeah, a lot of it is rehab. Beyond that, the Steelers seem to do well keeping guys engaged. Holcomb travelled to the away games and not every team sends its IR guys on the road. So I appreciated that.
I assume they’re in meetings when they can when they don’t have to do rehab. But rehab is the focus. I think most are at the facility in-season to be around trainers, doctors as part of their rehab. Offseason, they’re more likely to go back home but again, things can vary depending on the situation. And some players just live here in the offseason, too.
St36: With Tomlin sticking around,what are some big changes you would want to see happen? Either staffing or philosophy.For me I would love a bigger coaching staff and bringing in younger innovative offensive coaches.
Alex: Really honing in on culture and who they want to be. Even before figuring out personnel. I feel like Pittsburgh has been a grab-bag of “add here, subtract there” the pieces instead of how they fit. And that’s a problem. It makes them scattered.
I mentioned o-line coach above. That’s my big thing. Do those things and you can push this franchise forward.
The research I’ve done suggests a bigger/smaller coaching staff doesn’t have a correlation or success or failure. They can bring in some innovative coaches but I don’t know where or who. They just hired a new OC, WRs Coach, QBs Coach last season. They’ve undergone some pretty big coaching changes.
BananasFoster: Alex- seems like Tomlin is starting to really take some heat nationally, and what Cam and Marlon Humphrey revealed today on podcasts they were on things dont seem so rosy in the locker room. When will it be enough for AR2? Also, if they were to somehow position themselves for a top pick next year in a loaded QB class, are you confident in the Steelers coaching to tutor and develop a young, rookie QB?
Alex: Tomlin received a massive contract extension this offseason. He’s one of the highest-paid coaches not just in the NFL but all of American sports. He wasn’t going to get fired and then Art eat that money. If he had, he would’ve hired some low-level head coach because paying Tomlin and paying say, Ben Johnson top-dollar wasn’t going to happen. This is a team that drug their feet before firing Canada partially because of his contract. Tomlin was never going to be shown the door and the Steelers are basically stuck with him for the length of his extension.
Am I confident? It’s hard to say without a lot of evidence either way. Depends on how the o-line evolves. If they can build that up, then a QB has a shot to succeed. If not, their risk of failure increases.
BlackNGold43: If (as I hope) Arthur Smith gets a HC job, who would you like to replace him as OC? I wasn’t against his hire to begin with but his inability to scheme receivers open and adapt/adjust on the fly were problematic. Most of the time I watched ALL-22, receivers were all running individual routes that relied upon their skill/talent to beat the guy in front of them and frankly, they were not good enough. Also, relatedly, any thoughts on who would be good as an OL coach?
Alex: I hadn’t thought about it much. I’ll cross that bridge on coaching changes if they occur. Season just ended so haven’t had a lot of time to reflect.
Cory Fisher: Any chance Tomlin watched Lamar in that playoff game and finally had the light bulb to just copy their template with Lamar for Fields? I just hope that if they’re going to give Fields a chance, they really lean into his strengths with a down hill RPO heavy offense. Seems that maybe Smith agrees?
Alex: Maybe. I get your point. But it’s not like facing Lamar and his talent is brand new. If anything, the Steelers sorta being backed into a corner with limited QB options may be what compels them to roll with Fields and build around his strengths.
Idiot above: Do you believe the Steelers have a realistic path (finding a QB, adding weapons, building a competent OL, and upgrading the defense) to competing for a Super Bowl in the next 3 seasons? If your answer is probably not, do you think you should trade some of your aging talent instead of keeping them around for the next few years until they are no longer productive?
Alex: Three seasons is a long time in the NFL. Lot can change. I just focus on next year and right now, no, I don’t see the path to compete for a Super Bowl. As for trades, probably not, but it’s all case-by-case.
