Quarterback

Since Ben Roethlisberger retired at the end of the 2021 season, the Steelers have started five quarterbacks in three seasons, none of whom have established themselves as a long-term starter. Add in the fact that Roethlisberger either struggled or was injured in his final three seasons in the league and it’s been six seasons since the Steelers last had good quarterback play. The Steelers have still finished .500 or better in all six of those seasons though, with four playoff appearances, on the strength of their defense. However, in all four of those playoff appearances they have been one and done, with their quarterback play being a significant limiting factor once they make the post-season.

This off-season, the Steelers started over at the quarterback position again, letting both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, who made starts for them last season, leave as free agents. To replace them, their first move was to bring back Mason Rudolph, who spent 2018-2023 with the Steelers, but who was mostly a backup during that stretch, making just 13 starts, with just a 86.9 QB rating in those starts. Rudolph spent last season in Tennessee, making another 5 starts, but faring even worse with a 80.1 QB rating. The Steelers then used a 6th round pick on a developmental prospect in Will Howard, but their most notable quarterback addition was their third addition, as they signed future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers, who will start for them this season, with Rudolph as the backup and Howard as the third string.

The Steelers’ strategy is to hope Rodgers will put them over the top after all of their recent first round exits. There are a few problems with that strategy, however. For one, Rodgers is not nearly the quarterback he used to be. Rodgers played well into his late 30s, winning back-to-back MVPs in his age 37 and 38 seasons in 2020 and 2021, with PFF grades of 94.5 and 89.6 and QB ratings of 121.5 and 111.9 in those two seasons respectively, but he fell off pretty significantly in his age 39 season in 2022, with a QB rating of 91.1, the worst of his career as a starter, and a 77.7 PFF grade, the second worst of his career as a starter. 

In 2023, he missed all but 4 snaps with a torn achilles and then, upon his return in 2024, he continued playing at a similar level as 2022, with a PFF grade of 77.8 (15th among quarterbacks) and a QB rating of 90.5. Both of his 2022 and 2024 QB ratings are actually lower than the 94.8 QB rating the Steelers had as a team in 2024. Now in his age 42 season, Rodgers could easily continue declining and, in a best case scenario, he’ll probably play comparably to how he played in 2022 and 2024, which isn’t really an upgrade under center for the Steelers.

The other problem is the Steelers’ defense isn’t quite what it has been in recent years, finishing the regular season 14th both in yards per play allowed and first down rate allowed last season. In fact, despite their 10 wins and their post-season appearance, the Steelers finished last season 23rd in yards per play differential and 26th in first down rate differential, which are much more predictive on a year-to-year basis than win/loss record. The Steelers primarily had success last season because they ranked 2nd in the NFL with a +16 turnover margin, but turnover margins have next to no correlation on a year-to-year basis. Because of that, the Steelers are starting from a much lower base point than their 2024 record suggests, so, even if Rodgers is an upgrade at quarterback, which is unlikely, the Steelers won’t necessarily win more games as a result of that. This is still an underwhelming quarterback room.

Grade: B

Receiving Corps

The Steelers made other significant changes on offense this off-season as well. At wide receiver, they traded for DK Metcalf and traded away George Pickens, opting to extend Metcalf on a 4-year, 132 million rather than giving a similar deal to Pickens, with both going into the final year of their contract. This is essentially a lateral move, even though the Steelers paid a 2025 2nd round pick for Metcalf and got back a 2026 3rd round pick for Pickens. Pickens has averaged a higher yards per target in his career (9.70 vs. 8.71), despite worse quarterback play, and is significantly younger, going into his age 24 season, while Metcalf is going into his age 28 season, but Metcalf has a slightly higher yards per route run average (1.90 vs. 1.83) and has received better PFF grades overall, finishing at 69.7, 82.7, 80.9, 75.3, 80.0, and 74.3 in six seasons in the league, while Pickens has finished at 68.8, 75.3, and 76.9 in his three seasons in the league.

For a while, it looked like the Steelers would keep both in 2025, which, though it would have been expensive, definitely would have benefited this offense, as the Steelers now still have the same wide receiver depth issues that they had a year ago, when their #2 wide receiver Calvin Austin had just a 36/548/4 slash line and 1.45 yards per route run on 58 targets. Their #3 wide receiver Van Jefferson was even worse, with a 24/276/2 slash line and 0.72 yards per route run on 40 targets. 

Austin, a 2022 2nd round pick who only averaged 0.79 yards per route run in his first two seasons in the league prior to last season, would be best as a #3 receiver, especially since he is only 5-8 162, but he will probably be their de facto #2 receiver by default again this season. Jefferson is gone, which is addition by subtraction, but his replacement Robert Woods is unlikely to be significantly better. Woods has a career 1.53 yards per route run average, but that has fallen to 1.14, 1.02, and 1.05 over the past three seasons respectively and he is now heading into his age 33 season. 

Woods will likely face competition for the #3 receiver job from Roman Wilson, who played just 5 snaps and didn’t catch a pass as a rookie, but who at least has upside as a 2024 3rd round pick. Also in the mix for a reserve role is Scotty Miller, who played 209 snaps last season and averaged just 0.77 yards per route run. He has been better than that in his career, but his career yards per route run average is still just 1.21 and he has just 453 receiving yards total over the past four seasons, so, even in a thin position group, he is best as a deep reserve.

With all of the Steelers’ issues at wide receiver last season, they ranked 8th with 26.4% of their targets going to tight ends and tight ends figure to remain a big part of the offense again in 2025. Unfortunately, that position group isn’t good enough in the passing game to make up for their issues at wide receiver. Pat Freiermuth, their starting tight end, finished last season with a 65/653/7 slash line on 78 targets with 1.46 yards per route run. That is largely in line with his averages through four seasons in the league, as he has averaged a 55/548/5 slash line on an average of 76 targets with 1.41 yards per route run, since being selected in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Freiermuth will continue being backed up by Darnell Washington, an above average run blocker who also added a 1.29 yards per route run average and a 19/200/1 slash line on 25 targets in a limited role last season. That was a big upgrade from his rookie season, when the 2023 3rd round pick only averaged 0.44 yards per route run. He’s still inexperienced, but could easily remain an above average #2 tight end, with the ability to block and also contribute a little bit in the passing game. The Steelers also have Connor Heyward, who played 206 snaps as the #3 tight end last season, but he averaged just 0.69 yards per route run and has just a 1.06 yards per route run average in three seasons in the league. This is still an overall underwhelming receiving corps.

Grade: B

Running Backs

Running backs were also a big part of the Steelers’ passing game last season, as they ranked 2nd in the league with 23.7% of targets going to running backs. Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris split targets pretty evenly, with 47 and 48 respectively, and Warren was slightly more productive, with a 38/310/0 slash line and 1.44 yards per route run, as opposed to a 36/283/0 slash line and 1.29 yards per route run for Harris. As runners, Harris led the team with 263 carries, as opposed to 120 for Warren, but Warren was the more efficient back, with 4.26 YPC and a 50.0% carry success rate, as opposed to 3.97 YPC and a 43.7% carry success rate for Harris. 

Harris wasn’t retained as a free agent this off-season and the Steelers will try to replace him with third round rookie Kaleb Johnson and veteran free agent addition Kenneth Gainwell. Johnson is a similar power back to Harris, but only caught 29 passes in his collegiate career, while Gainwell has a decent 1.00 yards per route run average as a passing down specialist in his career, but only has 280 carries in four seasons in the league. Even with Johnson and Gainwell both being added, it’s likely the Steelers will be giving a bigger role to Jaylen Warren, both as a rusher and a receiver.

Warren is a 2022 undrafted free agent and is a projection to a larger role, with 473 touches in three seasons in the league and a max of 210 touches in a season, but he has a lot of upside. In fact, last season was actually a down year for him as a runner, as he has a career 4.84 yards per carry average and a career 50.6% carry success rate. He figures to have a new career high in touches this season and has a good chance to be effective in that role, while Johnson will rotate in on some running downs, especially in short yardage, and Gainwell will rotate in on some passing downs. Overall, it’s a solid backfield that fits well together and that has a lot of upside if Warren can continue playing at the level he has played at throughout his career, now in a bigger workload.

Grade: B

Offensive Line

On the offensive line, the biggest change was the loss of left tackle Dan Moore in free agency, but he was a marginal starter with a 67.2 PFF grade in 17 starts and the Steelers have an obvious replacement in 2024 1st round pick Troy Fautanu, who missed all but 55 snaps in his rookie season due to injury, but has clear potential, now healthy going into his second season in the league. He comes with some downside, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he ended up being an upgrade over Moore.

Fautanu will start opposite another former first round pick, 2023 14th overall pick Broderick Jones. Jones hasn’t lived up to expectations yet, finishing with season-long PFF grades of 60.7 and 58.5 across 27 total starts in two seasons in the league, primarily at right tackle, and he actually started last season on the bench before Fautanu got hurt, but he still has upside going into his third season in the league and could easily take a step forward in 2025. 

It’s unclear which of Fautanu and Jones will start on the left side and which will start on the right side as both have the ability to play both positions, but, either way, they will be the starters at tackle this season. They have a high upside, as recent high draft picks, but both come with downside as well, as Fautanu is coming off of a major injury and has one career start, while Jones has been mediocre thus far in his career. Depth is also an issue behind them, as swing tackle Calvin Anderson has made just 14 starts in six seasons in the league, with just two seasons above 60 on PFF.

The Steelers also didn’t retain right guard James Daniels this off-season. He excelled with a 92.9 PFF grade last season, but he only played four games due to injury, so his departure isn’t a huge loss. In his absence last season, Mason McCormick made 14 starts and struggled with a 57.7 PFF grade. McCormick will remain a starter this season, due to the lack of a better option, and he could be better, as he was only a 4th round rookie last season, but his improvement is not a guarantee. If he continues to struggle, the only alternative the Steelers have is Spencer Anderson, a 2023 7th round pick who struggled with a 53.2 PFF grade in the first four starts of his career last season. It’s unlikely he would be an upgrade, even over the mediocre McCormick, and, even as a reserve option, Anderson is underwhelming.

Opposite McCormick at left guard, Isaac Seumalo remains as the starter. He had a solid 67.6 PFF grade in 13 starts last season, but that was actually the second lowest grade of the seven seasons he’s been a primary starter in his career and he’s now heading into his age 32 season, so he could decline further this season. He’s also had durability issues in his career, missing time in all but two of nine seasons in the league, with 37 games missed total. The odds of him declining and/or missing significant time in 2025 are fairly high.

The Steelers’ best starter who made it through the season healthy last season was another rookie, center Zach Frazier, one of three draft picks from the 2024 class expected to start for the Steelers in 2025. A second round pick, Frazier finished his rookie season with a 76.8 PFF grade in 15 starts and could easily have a similar or even better season again in 2025. He’s the highlight of an overall underwhelming offensive line.

Grade: B-

Interior Defenders

As I mentioned, the Steelers’ defense was solid, but not elite last season. Their personnel is largely the same in 2025, with just 3 of the 14 players who played at least 300 snaps on this defense last season no longer on the team. However, one concern is the age of a couple of their top players, most notably interior defender Cameron Heyward, who heads into his age 36 season. Heyward turned back the clock last season with a dominant year, finishing with a 90.3 PFF grade across 779 snaps, playing at a high level against the run and as a pass rusher, with 8 sacks, 14 hits, and a 11.7% pressure rate.

That was Heyward’s seventh season above 80 on PFF in his last eight seasons, but the one exception was a 71.9 PFF grade on 442 snaps in 11 games in 2023 and, given his age, it wouldn’t be a surprise if his 2025 season was more similar to his 2023 season than his 2024 season. With Heyward aging, the Steelers felt it was important to add a long-term replacement, using their first round pick on Derrick Harmon. In the short-term, Harmon figures to take over the role left behind by free agent departure Larry Ogunjobi and, considering Ogunjobi had just a 49.4 PFF grade across 495 snaps, it wouldn’t be hard for Harmon to be an upgrade, but Harmon might not be good enough as a rookie to offset a potential significant decline from Heyward.

The Steelers also have Keeanu Benton, a 2023 2nd round pick who has shown some promise through two seasons in the league, with PFF grades of 74.8 and 68.2 across snap counts of 483 and 641 respectively. Benton had just 2 sacks in those two seasons, but he added 16 quarterback hits and a 6.9% pressure rate, while holding up well against the run. Still only in his age 24 season, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him have a career best year in his third season in the league in 2025.

With Heyward, Harmon, and Benton likely to play the vast majority of the interior defender snaps for the Steelers in 2025, additional depth is likely to only be needed in case of injury to one of their top-3, but that’s definitely a possibility. Outside of their top-3, the Steelers’ best interior defender is probably free agent addition Daniel Ekuale, who has finished above 60 on PFF in three straight seasons, including a 60.3 PFF grade across 723 snaps last season. He only had a 2.4% pressure rate last season, but played well against the run. He’s going into his age 31 season, but still has a good chance to be a capable reserve.

Additional reserve options include Isaiahh Loudermilk, a 2021 5th round pick who has finished below 60 on PFF in all four seasons in the league, on an average of 202 snaps per season, and 5th round rookie Yahya Black, but both would likely struggle and fortunately would only see significant snaps in case of emergency. This is a talented position group overall, but Cameron Heyward is highly unlikely to repeat last season’s dominant campaign.

Grade: A-

Edge Defenders

Along with Heyward, another Steelers defender who had an elite season last season was TJ Watt, with a 92.2 PFF grade across 939 snaps, but he too is getting up there in age, going into his age 31 season. His age isn’t nearly as big of a concern as Heyward, but he could still decline noticeably, which would have a negative effect on this defense as a whole. Watt is still likely to play at a pretty high level even if he declines though, as he’s starting from a very high base point. He’s finished above 80 on PFF in six straight seasons, including four seasons above 90. Also a high level run defender, Watt has totaled 88 sacks, 107 hits, and a 13.7% pressure rate in 90 games over the past six seasons, while winning the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year award. Even if he’s not at his peak form, he should remain one of the best edge defenders in the league.

Alex Highsmith, the Steelers’ other starting edge defender, is also coming off of a high level season, missing six games with injuries, but receiving a 89.5 PFF grade across 525 snaps in 11 games. Equally good as a pass rusher and a run defender, Highsmith had 6 sacks, 9 hits, and a 16.1% pressure rate last season, despite the missed time due to injury. That performance didn’t come out of nowhere either, as he had a 90.3 PFF grade across 909 snaps in 17 games in 2023, while compiling 7 sacks, 12 hits, and a 13.8% pressure rate. Still in his prime in his age 28 season, Highsmith should remain a high level edge defender in 2025 and, if Watt declines, Highsmith could potentially take over as the Steelers’ top edge defender.

With Watt and Highsmith being high level players who play every down, the Steelers don’t have much need for depth at the edge defender position, but top reserve Nick Herbig showed a lot of potential last season too, with a 81.9 PFF grade across 416 snaps in 13 games, including 236 snaps in five starts in Highsmith’s absence. As a pass rusher, he had 5.5 sacks, 6 hits, and a 11.9% pressure rate, despite the limited playing time. A 2023 4th round pick, Herbig also flashed a lot of potential in a very limited role as a rookie with a 80.7 PFF grade across 191 snaps. 

Herbig would be a projection to a larger role, but he has the talent to be an above average starter for most teams and, as a reserve, he is one of the best in the league. The Steelers also further added to their depth this off-season by using a 4th round pick on Jack Sawyer, though he would likely need an injury ahead of him on the depth chart to see more than a few snaps per game. This is a deep and talented edge defender group overall.

Grade: A

Linebackers

At linebacker, the Steelers were hoping for a big year out of Patrick Queen, who they signed to a 3-year, 41 million dollar deal last off-season. Queen was a first round pick by the Ravens in 2020 and finished with PFF grades of 70.0 and 73.1 in his final two seasons in Baltimore, while playing every down, with snap counts of 1,024 and 1,120 respectively. However, he regressed to his pre-2022 form in 2024, finishing with a 58.5 PFF grade across 1,091 snaps. Queen is only going into his age 26 season, so he has obvious bounce back potential, even if that’s not a guarantee.

Fortunately, the Steelers got good play at the other linebacker position from a platoon of Elandon Roberts (77.2 PFF grade across 478 snaps) and Payton Wilson (75.3 PFF grade across 493 snaps). Roberts was not retained as a free agent this season, so they are hoping Wilson, who was the passing down specialist last season, can continue playing well in an every down role. Wilson was a 3rd round pick in 2024 and received PFF grades above 60 both as a run defender and in coverage, so he has the potential to be a good every down player in his second season in the league in 2025, but he’s still a projection to that larger role. 

If Wilson proves incapable of being an every down player, the Steelers would likely turn to Cole Holcomb to replace Roberts in a situational role. Holcomb didn’t play a snap in 2024 while working back from a gruesome knee injury suffered in week 9 of the 2023 season, but he has finished above 60 in run defense on PFF in all five healthy seasons of his career and he’s still only going into his age 29 season, so he could be a useful situational player if he has recovered close to his old form, though that’s obviously a question mark, given the nature of his injury. The Steelers are hoping he can just be a reserve and that Wilson will be able to break out as an every down player in his second season in the league. 

The Steelers also signed Malik Harrison, a 2020 3rd round pick of the Ravens, but he has played just 250 snaps per season in five seasons in the league, with a max of 371 snaps played in a season and three seasons below 60 on PFF, so he was just signed to be a reserve. The Steelers have a high upside starting linebacker duo of Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson and an intriguing backup option in Cole Holcomb, but all three come with downside, with Queen coming off of a down year, Wilson never having played an every down role, and Holcomb having not played in a year and a half due to a brutal injury.

Grade: B+

Secondary

The Steelers also got solid play out of their safeties last season, with Minkah Fitzpatrick and DeShon Elliott receiving PFF grades of 68.4 and 70.2 in 14 starts and 17 starts respectively. For Fitzpatrick, last season was actually a down year, as he has finished above 70 on PFF in four of the past six seasons. Still in his late prime in his age 29 season, Fitzpatrick has a good chance to be better in 2025 than he was in 2024. Elliott, on the other hand, is coming off his 2nd best PFF grade in five seasons as a starter, but it wasn’t out of line with how he’s played in the past, finishing between 65.6 and 72.6 on PFF in those five seasons. Also relatively young in his age 28 season, I would expect more of the same from him in 2025.

The Steelers’ didn’t retain their top reserve safety, Damontee Kazee, this off-season, but he had just a 58.8 PFF grade across 290 snaps last season and the Steelers likely upgraded by replacing him with free agent addition Juan Thornhill. Thornhill has finished above 65 on PFF in five of six seasons in the league, while starting 74 of 87 games played over those six seasons. He has missed six games in each of the past two seasons respectively and is now heading into his age 30 season, but, as far as reserve safeties go, he’s a great option.

Cornerback was probably the Steelers’ biggest weakness on defense last season, as no cornerback played more than 200 snaps and finished with a PFF grade above 60. That includes Joey Porter, their de facto top cornerback, who had a 55.0 PFF grade. Porter was a second round pick in 2023 and has shown some promise, but he has also committed 27 penalties in two seasons in the league, including 15 last season, which was three more than any other cornerback. Porter was better as a rookie though, with a 65.2 PFF grade, and, only in his age 25 season, he could easily bounce back at least somewhat in his third season in the league, or perhaps even have his best year yet.

The Steelers also should get better play opposite Porter this season, parting ways with Donte Jackson, who had a 50.0 PFF grade across 780 snaps, and replacing him with veteran free agent addition Darius Slay. Slay comes with some risk though because, while he has finished above 60 on PFF in ten of the last eleven seasons, with seven seasons above 70 and four seasons above 80, he is also going into his age 34 season and could decline significantly in 2025. Even if he doesn’t decline, it’s hard to imagine him being significantly better than the 68.4 PFF grade he had in 2023 or the 67.6 PFF grade he had in 2024, though, again, it wouldn’t be hard for him to be better than Jackson was last season.

Unfortunately, the Steelers still have Beanie Bishop as their slot cornerback, after the 2024 undrafted free agent struggled with a 55.5 PFF grade across 549 snaps last season. He could be better in his second season in the league in 2025, but there’s also probably a good reason why he went undrafted and it’s very possible he never develops into even a capable slot cornerback. The Steelers do have Cory Trice as their top reserve and #4 cornerback and the 2023 7th round pick flashed potential with a 69.4 PFF grade last season, but he did so on only 194 snaps, the first 194 snaps of his career, so he’s very inexperienced and could easily struggle if injuries force him into a significant role. The Steelers have a solid group at safety and their cornerbacks should be better by default this season, but this secondary still has some concerns.

Grade: B

Kicker

Steelers kicker Chris Boswell was the best in the league last season, leading the league with 14.63 points above average, making 41 of 44 field goals and all 35 extra points. This was a career best year for Boswell, but it wasn’t out of the ordinary, as his 40.16 points above average over the past decade rank second in the league over that span, only behind Justin Tucker. Boswell is now in his age 34 season, but elite kickers can perform at a high level into their mid-to-late 30s, so I am not really concerned about his age. He probably won’t be quite as good again in 2025 as he was in 2024, just by default, but he should still be one of the top few kickers in the league.

Grade: A

Conclusion

The Steelers are hoping Aaron Rodgers upgrades their quarterback room, but the way he has played in his last two healthy seasons is not significantly better than what the Steelers got at quarterback last season and Rodgers is now heading into his age 42 season and could decline further. The Steelers are also starting from a lower base point than their 2024 record suggests, as they finished last season 23rd in yards per play differential and 26th in first down rate differential, which are much more predictive than win/loss records year-to-year. 

The Steelers also have the second oldest roster in the NFL, in part due to Rodgers, but also because of some other older players, including TJ Watt and Cameron Heyward, who were their best two defenders last season. The Steelers are well coached and could still compete for a playoff spot, but they have a tough schedule and there are at least seven better teams than them in the AFC, so they should find themselves on the outside looking in at the post-season when all is said and done.

Prediction: 5-12, 3rd in AFC North

Quarterbacks

The Steelers snuck into the post-season last year at 10-7, but they needed a 9-2 record in one-score games to do that, which is highly unlikely to happen again in 2024. In terms of yards per play differential and first down rate differential, which are much more predictive year-to-year than win/loss record, the Steelers were below average, at -0.39 and -0.78% respectively. If the Steelers want to make it back to the post-season in 2024, they will almost definitely need to be better in both of those metrics, especially since the AFC figures to be even tougher than a year ago, with Joe Burrow and Aaron Rodgers both returning from injury plagued seasons.

There are some reasons why the Steelers could be better in those metrics than a year ago. One is an overhauled quarterback position. Two off-seasons ago, the Steelers took a shot on Kenny Pickett in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, but he struggled mightily across two seasons as the starter, completing 62.6% of his passes for an average of 6.27 YPA, 13 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions in 24 starts. This off-season, the Steelers gave up on Kenny Pickett, trading him to the Eagles for minimal compensation, and also let Mason Rudolph and Mitchell Trubisky, who also made starts last season, leave in free agency. 

In total, the three quarterbacks who started for the Steelers last season combined for 63.8% completion, 6.76 YPA, 13 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions, a QB rating of 84.6, 21st in the NFL, a big part of the reason why the Steelers’ offense struggled last season, ranking 22nd in yards per play and 27th in first down rate. The Steelers didn’t make any big splash additions at the quarterback position this off-season, but they took fliers on Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, giving Wilson a 1-year, 1.21 million dollar deal and trading away a conditional late round pick to take on the remaining 1 year and 3.23 million left on Fields’ contract. It wouldn’t be hard for them to be better than what the Steelers had a year ago, even if only by default.

Wilson is considered the favorite for the starting job, but it will be a competition between him and Fields and it’s very possible both see starts at some point this season. Wilson was once one of the better quarterbacks in the league, making 158 starts for the Seahawks over a 10-year period from 2012-2021, completing 65.0% of his passes for an average of 7.83 YPA, 292 touchdowns, and 87 interceptions, while adding 4,689 yards and 23 touchdowns on 846 carries (5.54 YPC). 

However, in two seasons since, Wilson has completed 63.3% of his passes for an average of 7.09 YPA, 42 touchdowns, and 19 interceptions in 30 starts for the Broncos, while adding 618 yards and 6 touchdowns on 135 carries (4.58 YPC). Now going into his age 36 season, Wilson’s best days are almost definitely behind him, but he’s not totally over the hill age wise and could bounce back at least somewhat in his new home. At the very least, he was a worthwhile addition on a minimum contract that allows the Steelers to invest heavily in the rest of their roster.

Justin Fields, meanwhile, is a younger option, going into his age 25 season, and the 2021 11th overall pick has a much higher upside than the aging Wilson, but he’s been mediocre throughout his career, completing 60.3% of his passes for an average of 6.97 YPA, 40 touchdowns, and 30 interceptions, with 356 carries for 2,220 yards and 14 touchdowns (6.24 YPC) in 38 starts in three seasons with the Bears. He was also a worthwhile addition at a cheap price, but, like Wilson, he could also prove to be an underwhelming option. Wilson and Fields might be better by default than what the Steelers had at quarterback last season, but this still looks like a well below average quarterback room.

Grade: B-

Offensive Line

The Steelers also invested heavily in their offensive line this off-season, using 1st, 2nd, and 4th round picks on offensive tackle Troy Fautanu, center Zach Frazier, and guard Mason McCormick. This has been a multi-year rebuilding process on the offensive line, as the Steelers added tackle Broderick Jones in the first round and Isaac Seumalo on a 3-year, 24 million dollar deal last off-season and added guard James Daniels on a 3-year, 26.5 million dollar deal two off-seasons ago. 

This offensive line was still mediocre last season, run blocking pretty well, ranking 13th on PFF in team run blocking grade, but struggling mightily in pass protection, ranking 31st. In 2024, they have a good chance to improve. Jones, the 14th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, took over as the starting right tackle in week 9 of his rookie season, sending veteran Chukwuma Okorafor to the bench. Jones wasn’t really an upgrade over Okorafor, posting a 60.7 PFF grade to 60.4 for Okorafor, but he has much more upside long-term. 

Meanwhile, Troy Fautanu, the 20th overall pick in this year’s draft, will likely take the starting job at left tackle from incumbent Dan Moore, a 2021 4th round pick who had made 49 starts in three seasons in the league, but has mostly struggled, with PFF grades of 57.8, 62.4, and 51.8. With Okorafor being let go this off-season, Moore will take his place as the swing tackle. Fautanu and Jones are still a young, inexperienced starting duo, and Fautanu in particular could have some growing pains in year one, but both have huge upsides and it wouldn’t be hard for them to be an upgrade over the Steelers’ tackles last season, when Jones was a rookie and Dan Moore struggled in 16 starts.

Second round rookie Zack Frazier could also have growing pains in year one, but it also wouldn’t be hard for him to be an upgrade over incumbent starting center Mason Cole, who had a 57.3 PFF grade in 17 starts last season and subsequently was released this off-season. Meanwhile, fourth round rookie Mason McCormick will almost definitely begin his career as a reserve, with veterans James Daniels and Isaac Seumalo still locked in as the starting guards.

Daniels, a second round pick in 2018, has made 80 starts in six seasons in the league, finishing above 60 on PFF in all six seasons. He’s only finished above 70 in one season, with a 71.8 grade back in 2021, but he’s still only in his age 27 season and should remain at least a decent starter this season, if an unspectacular one. Daniels is also a versatile player who has 8 career starts at center and could move there in case the rookie Frazier struggles or gets injured.

Seumalo, meanwhile, is a 2016 3rd round pick and has made 71 starts over the past six seasons, finishing above 60 on PFF in all six seasons, with finishes above 70 in each of the previous three seasons. He is going into his age 31 season and could start to decline, but he has a good chance to remain at least a decent starter, even if he’s not at his best. Along with the rookie McCormick, the Steelers also have veteran Nate Herbig as a reserve option at guard and he’s a solid option, finishing above 60 on PFF in three of the past four seasons, with 30 starts over that stretch. This is still an unspectacular offensive line, but they have a good chance to be better than a year ago.

Grade: B

Running Backs

The Steelers’ passing game was obviously a weakness last season, with poor quarterback play and an offensive line that struggled in pass protection, but that offensive line was much better in run blocking and the Steelers had much more talent at the running back position than they did at the quarterback position, led by Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, a pair of talented running backs. Harris and Warren return in 2024 and should have similar roles to a year ago.

Harris outcarried Warren 255 to 149, even though Warren had a big edge in YPC at 5.26 to 4.06. That’s been the case for the past couple seasons. Harris, a first round pick in 2021, has 834 carries over the past three seasons, second most in the NFL over that span, but he only has a 3.92 YPC average, while Warren, a 2022 undrafted free agent, had a 4.92 YPC average across 77 carries as a rookie, before seeing a slightly bigger role last season.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that the Steelers’ offense would be better off if Warren overtook Harris as the starter though. Harris’ YPC average isn’t nearly as good as Warren’s, but Harris gets most of the hard yards and has a solid 47.2% carry success rate in his career, only slightly behind Warren, who has a 50.9%% carry success rate in his career. Harris is also a much bigger back (6-1 240 vs. 5-8 215) and is more suited to a bigger role, while Warren could possibly wear down and not be as efficient in a larger role. I would expect both to see similar carry totals in 2024 as they did in 2023.

Warren is the primary passing down back though, with a 61/370/0 slash line and a 1.45 yards per route run average last season, as opposed to 29/170/0 and 0.85 yards per route run for Harris. Warren also averaged 1.24 yards per route run as a rookie, while Harris has averaged just 0.90 yards per route run in his career. Warren and Harris are a good tandem that complements each other’s abilities well and both are still only in their age 26 seasons, so they should continue playing at a similar level in 2024.

Harris has never missed a game with injury, while Warren has missed just one, but if either misses time with injury in 2024, the other would likely take over an expanded role, with #3 running back Cordarrelle Patterson taking over the backup role. Signed as a free agent this off-season, Patterson has a 1.30 yards per route run average and 298 catches in 170 career games, as well as a 4.89 YPC average on 514 carries, so he’s a well-rounded player who can play different roles, but he’s going into his age 33 season, so his best days are almost definitely behind him. Overall, this is a pretty solid backfield.

Grade: B+

Receiving Corps

One big concern for this offense is the receiving corps. A year ago, George Pickens and Diontae Johnson led the way with slash lines of 63/1140/5 and 51/717/5 respectively, while averaging 2.11 yards per route run and 1.97 yards per route run respectively, but after them the Steelers’ third leading receiver was running back Jaylen Warren with 370 receiving yards. Poor quarterback play didn’t help matters, but the Steelers’ receiving corps deserves a lot of blame and, overall, this was a really thin group a year ago. Making matters worse, the Steelers traded away Johnson this off-season, without really replacing him. The Steelers also lost their #3 receiver from a year ago, Allen Robinson, although he won’t really be missed, after a 34/280/0 slash line and a 0.70 yards per route run average.

To try and replace the receivers they lost this off-season, the Steelers signed veteran Van Jefferson and used a third round pick Roman Wilson and they will probably give a bigger role to 2022 4th round pick Calvin Austin, but all three of those players are underwhelming starting options, leaving this group very thin behind Pickens. Jefferson was a second round pick in 2020, but has only averaged 1.16 yards per route run in four seasons in the league and is already going into his age 28 season, so he’s running out of time to make good on his upside. Roman Wilson has upside, but is still just a mid-round rookie and could easily struggle in a significant year one role. Calvin Austin, meanwhile, has averaged just 0.79 yards per route run in two seasons in the league and doesn’t seem like he’s about to take a huge step forward and be a starting caliber receiver.

George Pickens, a 2022 2nd round pick who is only going into his age 23 season, could take on a bigger target share, but he’ll need to develop more as a short-to-intermediate route runner for that to happen, as 60.4% of his targets, 49.2% of his catches, and 75.5% of his receiving yardage came 10+ yards downfield in 2023. As a rookie in 2022, it was a similar story, as Pickens had a 52/801/4 slash line and 1.38 yards per route run, with 64.3% of his targets, 53.8% of his catches, and 80.0% of his receiving yardage 10+ yards downfield. He still could have further untapped upside, but will need to become more than just a deep threat to take on the bigger target share the Steelers will need him to. 

Given the situation at wide receiver, expect the Steelers to continue to heavily target their running backs in the passing game and they could also give a big target share to tight end Pat Freiermuth. A 2nd round pick in 2021, Freiermuth had a 60/497/7 slash line with 1.26 yards per route run on 79 targets as a rookie, then took a step forward with a 63/732/2 slash line with 1.68 yards per route run on 98 targets in 2022, but took step back in 2023, averaging just 1.12 yards per route run in a season in which he also missed five games with injury and finished with just a 32/308/2 slash line on just 47 targets. He’s still only going into his age 26 season in 2024 though and should have plenty of opportunity as a short-to-immediate target in this passing game, so he could have an impressive statistical season if he’s healthy and can rediscover his 2022 form, still only in his age 26 season. 

The #2 tight end job will likely go to Darnell Washington, who only caught 7 passes and averaged 0.44 yards per route run as a third round rookie in 2023, but who is a good blocker and has the upside to take a step forward as a receiver in his second season in the league in 2024. In total, Washington played 509 snaps as a rookie, with 324 of them coming on running plays. The Steelers also have Connor Heyward, who isn’t the blocker Washington is, but who took over Freiermuth targets when he was hurt last season, finishing the season with a 23/167/0 slash line on 34 targets, with a 15/118/0 slash line on 20 targets in the five games Freiermuth missed. In total, he played 401 snaps last season, with 226 of them coming on passing plays.

Heyward, a 2022 6th round pick, also played 175 snaps and had a 12/151/1 slash line as a rookie and he has a decent, but unspectacular 1.14 yards per route run average between the two seasons. Freiermuth would probably have to get hurt again for Heyward to see a significant role again, but he’s not bad insurance to have. Overall, this is a below average receiving corps with a lot of issues behind #1 receiver George Pickens, who is a pretty one-dimensional deep threat.

Grade: B-

Edge Defenders

The Steelers’ defense was their better side of the ball last season, ranking 23rd in yards per play allowed and 9th in first down rate allowed. The strength of this defense was the edge defender position. TJ Watt is a well-known former Defensive Player of the Year and he played at that level again in 2023, with a 91.9 PFF grade across 930 snaps, 19 sacks, 20 hits, and a 15.6% pressure rate, but Alex Highsmith, who plays opposite Watt, wasn’t far behind, with a 90.3 PFF grade across 909 snaps, 7 sacks, 12 hits, and a 13.8% pressure rate. 

Watt is now going into his age 30 season and could start to decline soon, but, even if he does decline in 2024, he’s starting from such a high base point that he should remain one of the best edge defenders in the league regardless. The 2017 1st round pick has finished above 70 on PFF in all seven seasons in the league, with five straight seasons above 80 and three seasons over 90, while totaling 76.5 sacks, 89 hits, and a 14.8% pressure rate in 83 games over those past five seasons.

Highsmith, on the other hand, is a one-year wonder in terms of playing at the level he played at last season, but he also had PFF grades of 72.0, 67.2, and 78.0 in his first three seasons in the league prior to last season, so, even if he regresses in 2024, he should remain at least an above average starter and, still only in his age 27 season, it’s possible the 2020 3rd round pick has permanently turned a corner and will remain at a similar level to how he played last season.

Markus Golden also thrived as the top reserve last season, only playing 230 snaps, but recording a 86.5 PFF grade, with 4 sacks, 6 hits, and a 14.8% pressure rate in limited action. He wasn’t brought back this off-season, but the Steelers should still have at least one good reserve option in Nick Herbig, a 2023 4th round pick who flashed a lot of potential with a 80.7 PFF grade on 191 snaps as a rookie. He’s still a projection to a larger role, but won’t have to play too much unless Watt or Highsmith miss an extended time with injury and he has a good chance to be an above average reserve and make up somewhat for the loss of Golden.

The Steelers don’t have much depth behind Watt, Highsmith, and Herbig, which is only a problem if one of them misses significant time with injury, but an injury to one of three is definitely a possibility and the rest of this position group consists of 2022 6th round pick Kyron Johnson, who has played 22 snaps in two seasons in the league, 2022 undrafted free agent Jeremiah Moon, who has played 99 snaps in two seasons in the league, 2023 undrafted free agent David Perales, who didn’t play a snap as a rookie, and 2024 undrafted free agent Jacoby Windman. It’s likely at least one of those aforementioned players will have to play at least somewhat of a role at some point this season. Still, with the talent at the top of this position group, this is still one of the best edge defender groups in the league.

Grade: A

Interior Defenders

Interior defender Cameron Heyward has been a fixture of this team for years, joining this team as a first round pick in 2011 and excelling in his prime. In a 9-year stretch from 2014-2022, Heyward totaled 71 sacks, 91 hits, and a 10.9% pressure rate in 135 games, while playing at a high level against the run, averaging 53.7 snaps per game, and finishing above 80 on PFF seven times. However, Heyward fell to a 71.9 PFF grade with 2 sacks, 1 hit, and a 6.5% pressure rate in 2023, while playing 442 snaps in just 11 games due to injury. Now going into his age 35 season, Heyward’s best days are almost definitely behind him and he could easily continue declining further. He has a good chance to remain at least a solid starter, but that’s not a guarantee at this stage.

With Heyward missing time last season, this interior defender group was led in snaps played by Larry Ogunjobi, who played 766 snaps, but was mostly a snap eater, with just a 59.2 PFF grade. That’s been the case for Ogunjobi for years, as he’s averaged 746 snaps per season over the past six seasons, but has never finished with a season-long grade better than 61.7, while finishing below 60 in four seasons. Now going into his age 30 season, Ogunjobi is unlikely to improve and could possibly decline and be a liability.

With Heyward and Ogunjobi aging, the Steelers will hope to get more out of Keeanu Benton, who showed a lot of promise as a second round rookie in 2023. He only played 483 snaps and had just 1 sack, but he added 7 hits and a 8.1% pressure rate and finished the season with an overall grade of 74.8 on PFF. Now going into his second season in the league, he could be ready for a bigger role, but he still is a projection to that larger role and won’t necessarily be as efficient. He has a good chance to at least be a solid starter, but he’s still relatively raw and inexperienced.

The Steelers also have a bunch of depth options behind their top-3 at the interior defender position. Montravius Adams (416 snaps), Armon Watts (273 snaps), DeMarvin Leal (206 snaps), and Isaiahh Loudermilk (180 snaps) all played roles as reserves last season and the only one of those four who wasn’t retained this off-season is Watts, who was essentially replaced by veteran free agent acquisition Dean Lowry. All four of those options, including Lowry, all finished below 60 on PFF last season though, so the Steelers will probably be hoping they don’t need to lean too heavily on any of them. 

Lowry is the most experienced of the bunch, starting 84 of the 120 games he’s played in eight seasons in the league, while averaging 33.2 snaps per game, and he finished above 60 on PFF in five of his first six seasons in the league, but he has fallen to PFF grades of 59.3 and 47.4 on snap counts of 482 and 237 over the past two seasons and, now going into his age 30 season, he’s unlikely to improve significantly and will probably be a liability, even in a smaller role. Adams is also a veteran, selected in the 3rd round in 2017, but he’s never really lived up to his draft slot, playing just 225 snaps per season in seven seasons in the league and finishing below 60 on PFF in four of those seven seasons, including a 58.3 PFF grade last season. He is likely to be similarly underwhelming in 2024. 

Loudermilk and Leal, on the other hand, are more recent draft picks, but they also are underwhelming options. Loudermilk has finished with PFF grades of 47.5, 42.2, and 55.9 on a total of just 584 snaps since going in the 5th round in 2021, while Leal has finished with PFF grades of 46.0 and 47.5 on a total of just 381 snaps since going in the 3rd round in 2022. Leal could still have some untapped upside, only going into his age 23 season, but he needs to take a big step forward to even be a decent rotational option, while Loudermilk is already heading into his age 27 season and wasn’t a high draft pick, so he might not have any untapped upside. This isn’t a bad position group overall, but they have some aging starters and some depth concerns.

Grade: B

Linebackers

One reason this team could potentially be better than a year ago is the addition of Patrick Queen at the linebacker position, after the Steelers stole him away from division rival Baltimore to a 3-year, 41 million dollar deal. A first round pick in 2020, Queen took a couple years to develop, struggling in his first two seasons in the league, but he has broken out with PFF grades of 70.0 and 73.1 on snap counts of 1,024 and 1,120 over the past two seasons, so he seems to have permanently turned a corner as an above average every down player and, still only in his age 25 season, he could have further untapped upside. He will continue in an every down role in Pittsburgh and figures to provide a big boost to this linebacking corps.

The other linebacker job will go to one of two veteran holdovers, Cole Holcomb or Elandon Roberts. Holcomb is better suited for an every down role than Roberts, playing in 58.8 snaps per game over the past four seasons, while mostly being at least decent, with PFF grades of 72.0, 56.7, 66.6, and 65.5, but he’s also missed 25 games with injury over that stretch. He’s probably the favorite for the starting job opposite Queen, but could easily miss more time with injury this season. Roberts, meanwhile, is mostly a run stopping specialist, as his 72.5 PFF grade across 581 snaps in 16 games last season was the first season of his career in which he played more than 500 snaps in a season and had a PFF grade over 60. 

Roberts is now going into his age 30 season and isn’t suited for more than a situational role, but he’s at least good depth to have in case Holcomb gets hurt again. The Steelers also used a third round pick on Payton Wilson to give them more depth at the position and he’d likely work in tandem with Roberts as a passing down specialist if Holcomb or Queen miss time. They’re much better depth than last season, when Mykal Walker (293 snaps), Myles Jack (131 snaps), Kwon Alexander (362 snaps), and Mark Robinson (150 snaps) all played roles with Holcomb out and all finished below 60 on PFF. Overall, this is a much deeper linebacking corps than a year ago and the addition of Patrick Queen gives them a high level talent they didn’t have a year ago either.

Grade: B+

Secondary

The Steelers also added safety DeShon Elliott to their defense this off-season. A 6th round pick in 2018, Elliott has finished above 60 on PFF in all six seasons in the league, including a career best 72.6 PFF grade on 926 snaps last season, and he’s still only in his age 27 season, so he should continue at least being a solid starter. The one concern with Elliott is durability, as he’s missed 42 games in his career due to injury, though just five of those have come in the past two seasons. 

However, it shouldn’t be hard for Elliott to be better or more available than the player he is replacing, Keanu Neal, who had a 59.6 PFF grade across 430 snaps in 9 games last season and who is no longer with the team. Elliott should also be an upgrade over Damontae Kazee, who started in Neal’s absence and had a 60.4 PFF grade. Kazee played 771 snaps in total last season, not only filling in for Neal when he was injured, but also filling in for Minkah Fitzpatrick, who was limited to 549 snaps in 10 games by injuries of his own.

Fitzpatrick should be healthier this season which, along with the addition of Elliott, should also be a boost for this defense. Fitzpatrick had a 71.3 PFF grade last season, but that was actually a relatively down year for him, as he had PFF grades of 79.8, 79.5, and 82.4 respectively in 2019, 2020, and 2022. Still in his prime in his age 28 season, Fitzpatrick should be healthier and probably also better in 2024. At his best, he’s one of the best safeties in the league. Elliott and Fitzpatrick should be an above average safety duo.

Kazee remains as the #3 safety, where he’s a better fit. He’s finished above 60 on PFF in all seven seasons in the league, including two seasons above 70, and he’s started 62 of the 92 games he’s played, while averaging 45.0 snaps per game, but he’s heading into his age 31 season and is better off as an above average depth option at this stage of his career. Kazee also has the versatility to play slot cornerback, where he might need to, given the Steelers’ lack of depth at the cornerback position.

The Steelers bring back their top cornerback from last season, Joey Porter, who had a 65.2 PFF grade across 802 snaps last season and could take a step forward in 2024, as 2023 2nd round pick with a high upside. The Steelers also added Donte Jackson and Cameron Sutton this off-season, to replace departures Patrick Peterson (60.5 PFF grade across 1,096 snaps), Levi Wallace (57.8 PFF grade across 726 snaps), and Chandon Sullivan (61.2 PFF grade across 422 snaps), but Sutton is expected to be suspended for eight games for an off-the-field incident and the Steelers’ cornerback depth is very suspect behind Porter, Jackson, and Sutton.

Donte Jackson has started 76 of the 80 games he’s played in six seasons in the league, but he’s had some durability issues, missing 19 games total and he’s been a bit inconsistent, finishing above 60 on PFF four times, with a career best 70.4 in 2020, but also finishing below 60 twice. Sutton, meanwhile, has started 48 of the 49 games he’s played over the past three seasons, receiving PFF grades of 61.9 and 71.6 in 2021 and 2022, before falling to a 56.0 PFF grade in 2023. Both are decent, but unspectacular options, though obviously Sutton suspension is a big concern.

When Sutton or any of the Steelers’ other cornerbacks are out, their options other than moving Kazee to the slot are 2023 5th round pick Darius Rush, who played just 39 snaps as a rookie, 2023 7th round pick Cory Trice, who didn’t play a snap as a rookie, 2020 4th round pick Josiah Scott, who has played just 577 snaps in four seasons in the league, 6th round rookie Ryan Watts, and veteran Anthony Averett, who played 807 snaps in 2021, but struggled with a 56.3 PFF grade and has otherwise played just 927 snaps in five seasons in the league, with none of those coming last season, when he spent the season on practice squads. This is a pretty good secondary, especially at safety, but they have some depth concerns at cornerback.

Grade: B+

Conclusion

The Steelers made the post-season at 10-7 last season, but their 9-2 record in one-score games is unsustainable, so they will need to be significantly better this season to make it back to the post-season. There are reasons to believe they will be improved, such as their retooled quarterback room and the addition of off-ball linebacker Patrick Queen on defense, but they probably will not be improved enough to make the post-season in an AFC that is even more loaded than a year ago.

Update: After evaluating every team and looking at schedules, the Steelers have one of the toughest schedules in the league this season, making it an uphill battle for them to even come close to making the post-season.

Prediction: 6-11, 4th in AFC North