Since Ben Roethlisberger retired, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive struggles are well-known. However, they’ve still made the playoffs in four of the last five years, in large part thanks to their defense. While that unit had some issues at the end of the 2024 season, the Steelers made some dramatic changes this offseason, with some thinking it could be one of the best defenses in the league. That’s an opinion DK Metcalf would agree with.
“I think they the best defense I done ever seen,” Metcalf said Sunday after practice on NFL Network’s Inside Training Camp Live. “Yeah, there’s some dawgs everywhere on the field. And I tip my hat to ’em, ’cause they come to work every day, and you know, we don’t have any choice but to get better.”
Pittsburgh’s defense was able to help the team clinch a playoff berth last year, but it really started to struggle toward the end of the season. Against the run, the Steelers were extremely poor and bottomed out when they allowed the Baltimore Ravens to run all over them in their playoff loss. Most of those issues came along the defensive line, where the Steelers weren’t able to set the tone as they hoped.
Now, there’s plenty of new faces there. First-round pick Derrick Harmon is set to assume a starting role. He should give some immediate help against the run. Yahya Black and his massive, hard-to-move frame will offer help in that area as well. And even though the Steelers are already stout on the edge, they secured that pipeline even more by adding Jack Sawyer. Of course, all those players need to develop well for those additions to mean anything. Still, there’s much more optimism regarding the unit now compared to last year.
Aside from just filling their weaknesses, there are some real strengths on the Steelers’ defense, too. The first one that jumps out is at cornerback. With a starting trio of Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay and Joey Porter Jr. it’s a position that should scare opposing offenses. There’s some good depth behind those three as well. At safety and linebacker Pittsburgh is counting on big contributions from players like Juan Thornhill, Chuck Clark and Payton Wilson. Those are more of a gamble, but it’s reasonable to expect all to have some measure of success.
It’s some high praise from Metcalf. He saw some talented defenses in Seattle and has seen just about every defense in the league throughout his career. However, Pittsburgh’s performances through training camp are backing his claim up.
Whether it’s a sign of a good defense or a bad offense, the Steelers’ defense is getting the better of the offense throughout training camp. It’s a unit with a ton of talent, and one that’s mixing things up much more than it has before. So far, Metcalf and the rest of the offense are impressed with what they’re seeing.
