It’s going to be hard to judge the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offseason until they figure out their quarterback position, but Pro Football Focus’ Dalton Wasserman thinks the team improved in two key areas. Wasserman believes Pittsburgh’s positive takeaway from the offseason is that the team made “necessary improvements everywhere,” except at quarterback.
“The Steelers’ quarterback situation remains a complete mystery, but they also entered free agency with needs at wide receiver and cornerback,” Wasserman wrote. “They managed to find talented players at both spots in wide receiver DK Metcalf and cornerback Darius Slay. Now, they’ll turn to figuring out who will be throwing the football, whether it be a veteran like Aaron Rodgers or someone in the 2025 NFL Draft class.”
The Steelers have been trying to upgrade their receiver room for years, and they finally got their big-ticket acquisition in Metcalf. He and George Pickens should be one of the best duos in the league, and there’s no doubt the Steelers are in a better spot this year at receiver than they were at any point last season. Slay and Brandin Echols help add depth to the cornerback room. While the Steelers did lose CB Donte Jackson, he struggled in the second half of last season, and Slay should be an upgrade on the outside. Meanwhile Echols and Cory Trice Jr. both provide solid depth behind Slay and Joey Porter Jr.
The Steelers still have work to do in building out their roster. Their defensive line room is far from a finished product, with Daniel Ekuale a nice depth piece but the team still needing an impact add, which could come through the draft. They also need to continue to add depth along the offensive line and bring in another running back, which like defensive line, will probably come through the draft.
Even while the improvements may not have been made “everywhere” at this point, there’s still time to improve the roster through free agency and the draft. If the Steelers do land Rodgers, then they’ll at least have clarity at the quarterback position. And one could make the argument that he’s an upgrade over Russell Wilson, and the Steelers certainly seem to think he will be. At least so far, though, the Steelers have improved at two key positions that have had long-term needs, and that’s a positive at this point in the offseason.
