The Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster has a bunch of “what ifs” and “if onlys” this season, but it’s hard to look at the various position groups and not see small improvements all around. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac argued that the Steelers are worse than they were last season, but The Pat McAfee Show’s Pittsburgh correspondent Mark Kaboly strongly disagrees.
“There’s a lot of unanswered questions right now, but I’ve heard a lot of people talking about roster construction right now. I think it’s no doubt that it’s a better roster than it was last year. I think that goes without saying,” Kaboly said via Kaboly + Mack on YouTube. “I think they’ve got a better group of people here this year to be successful.”
Which side of the debate you fall on depends on how optimistic you are about the various “what ifs” on the Steelers’ roster. Just about every position group has some of those questions to be answered.
The biggest one is Aaron Rodgers at the quarterback position. In theory he is the best quarterback they’ve had since Ben Roethlisberger got injured in 2019, but that is assuming his body doesn’t fail him at 41 (turning 42) years old. There was a brief two or three-game span last season when Russell Wilson looked like his old self in Pittsburgh. Can Rodgers match and hopefully exceed that level this season? With just five wins last year in New York, it’s hard to say with any degree of certainty.
The offensive line is one of the biggest question marks on the entire roster. Dan Moore Jr.—for how maligned he was by the fan base over his four years in Pittsburgh—was an average left tackle by the end of his tenure. Broderick Jones won’t immediately be an upgrade, but the hope is that he can get there at some point in the season. That potential downgrade should be offset by Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick having another year under their belt, and Troy Fautanu should be an upgrade at right tackle over what Jones provided last season.
There is hope for Kaleb Johnson to be better than Najee Harris was and Kenneth Gainwell is a better No. 3 RB than Cordarrelle Patterson was last season, but Johnson is another unknown. And no matter what you think of the George Pickens trade, DK Metcalf is a more accomplished receiver. And Calvin Austin III and Roman Wilson are another year older with more experience. The tight ends are mostly the same, but Darnell Washington showed up lighter and ready to contribute as a receiver.
Overall, the offense should be at least a little better with the potential (again with the qualifying language) to be significantly improved.
The defense is largely the same, but Payton Wilson, Beanie Bishop Jr., Joey Porter Jr., and Cory Trice Jr. all have more experience under their belt.
In the secondary, Juan Thornhill and Darius Slay should be a slight upgrade over Damontae Kazee and Donte Jackson. And they have additional depth with a healthy Trice and Brandin Echols entering the fold.
The inside linebacker group is the best and deepest it’s been in years. Patrick Queen has another year of experience with handling the green dot and the responsibilities of communicating to the rest of the defense. Cole Holcomb is back after a year-plus lost to injury and Malik Harrison was two-year, $10 million addition to the defense.
T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith will still be the top edge rushers and Nick Herbig the top depth, but Jack Sawyer is a promising young rookie who the Steelers couldn’t pass on in the fourth round. And the defensive line finally got its long-term answer with first-round DT Derrick Harmon. He might not be an immediate upgrade over Larry Ogunjobi, but it shouldn’t take long for that to be the case. And they have much more depth across the DL this year.
It’s hard to identify a position group that got worse on paper this offseason. A bunch of slight upgrades, and the potential for a few very large ones, should make the Steelers’ overall roster quite a bit better in 2025.
