In just a few days, the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine will get underway in Indianapolis, marking a key date on the NFL calendar in the offseason. Once the Combine is underway, the start of the new league year on March 12 will arrive, and shortly after that, the draft will be here.
For now, though, we’re still in the early stages of the offseason, looking back on the 2024 season that was. To do so today, I continue in my Ranking The Steelers’ Starters, post-season edition. So, that’s what we’re doing, taking a look at No. 3-1 after looking at No. 6-4 earlier this week, No. 9-7 last week, ranking No. 12-10, No. 15-13, No. 18-16, No. 21-19 and No. 24-22 previously.
As a reminder, here’s the list from No. 24-1 ahead of training camp.
No. 24 — Dan Moore Jr., LT
No. 23 — Darnell Washington, TE
No. 22 — Van Jefferson, WR
No. 21 — Zach Frazier, C
No. 20 — Larry Ogunjobi, DE
No. 19 — Cameron Johnston, P
No. 18 — Donte Jackson, CB
No. 17 — Elandon Roberts, ILB
No. 16 — Broderick Jones, RT
No. 15 — Keeanu Benton, NT
No. 14 — James Daniels, RG
No. 13 — DeShon Elliott, S
No. 12 — Najee Harris, RB
No. 11 — Russell Wilson, QB
No. 10 — Isaac Seumalo, LG
No. 9 — Pat Freiermuth, TE
No. 8 — George Pickens, WR
No. 7 — Joey Porter Jr., CB
No. 6 — Cameron Heyward, DE
No. 5 — Chris Boswell, K
No. 4 — Patrick Queen, LB
No. 3 — Alex Highsmith, OLB
No. 2 — Minkah Fitzpatrick, S
No. 1 — T.J. Watt, OLB
And here is how the post-season Ranking The Steelers’ Starters series looks so far:
No. 24 — Van Jefferson, WR
No. 23 — Dan Moore Jr., LT
No. 22 — Corliss Waitman, P
No. 21 — Broderick Jones, RT
No. 20 — Larry Ogunjobi, DE
No. 19 — Darnell Washington, TE
No. 18 — Donte Jackson, CB
No. 17 — Mason McCormick, RG
No. 16 — Keeanu Benton, NT
No. 15 — Elandon Roberts, ILB
No. 14 — Najee Harris, RB
No. 13 — Pat Freiermuth, TE
No. 12 — Patrick Queen, LB
No. 11 — Russell Wilson, QB
No. 10 — George Pickens, WR
No. 9 — Minkah Fitzpatrick, S
No. 8 — Joey Porter Jr., CB
No. 7 — Isaac Seumalo, LG
No. 6 — Zach Frazier, C
No. 5 — Alex Highsmith, OLB
No. 4 — T.J. Watt, OLB
Again, a reminder: I won’t rank players like Justin Fields, Nick Herbig, or Payton Wilson here because they didn’t play true starter snaps.
Without further ado, let’s jump into the postseason Ranking the Steelers’ Starters, looking at the final three, No. 3-1 today.
No. 3 — DeShon Elliott, S
The Steelers’ addition of DeShon Elliott in free agency on a two-year, $6 million deal flew under the radar during a busy offseason, but it turned out to be one of the best moves GM Omar Khan has made in his brief tenure in charge of roster moves.
Elliott was a force for the Steelers all season long as that box safety. He racked up 108 tackles, was great against the run, created splash from a tackles-for-loss perspective right out of the chute, and was one of the best defenders of the season for the Steelers. He missed just one tackle, too, and posted the best Next Gen Stats tackling efficiency metric since 2018.
I’d like to see more splash from him from a turnover perspective in 2025, but there is no denying just how good Elliott was for the Steelers in his first season.
No. 2 — Chris Boswell, K
Seeing a kicker this high up in the rankings is probably problematic for some readers, and I get that. But Chris Boswell isn’t your average kicker. Who knows where the Steelers are without him last year? He was consistently their best offensive weapon week after week and was the best kicker on the year from start to finish.
He put together the finest season of his career, drilling 41 field goals and connecting on 13 field goals from at least 50 yards. He missed just three kicks all season. Of those misses, one was blocked, one was from 58 yards, and the other was from 62 yards.
Boswell was as consistent as they come and led the league in scoring, becoming the first Steelers player to do that. It’s hard to argue with any of that.
No. 1 — Cameron Heyward, DE
There were so many questions about Cameron Heyward entering the 2024 season; all the future Hall of Famer did was emphatically answer each one. After signing an extension to remain a one-helmet guy for his career, the 35-year-old Heyward came out and dominated, showing fully healthy once again that he’s a force to be reckoned with.
Heyward recorded 71 tackles, eight sacks, 12 tackles for loss, 11 passes defensed, and 56 pressures, finishing as the No. 1-graded defensive lineman by Pro Football Focus at 90.3 overall. He was seemingly unblockable week after week.
Heyward’s eight sacks helped him put up a historic season for an interior defensive lineman aged 35 years or older. Those eight sacks are second-most ever by a defensive tackle his age or older, trailing only Hall of Famer Steve McMichael’s 10.5 in 1992.
The veteran defensive lineman was also great at getting his hands on passes, recording 11 tipped passes on the season and creating big-time plays even when he couldn’t get to the quarterback in the passing game.
Coming off of his dominant season, which saw him earn first-team All-Pro honors, Heyward’s 2025 season seems like it will be another awesome season, assuming he stays healthy.
