Roster And Draft Class Breakdown: Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers finally did what needed to be done years ago, got a young quarterback. Now they have a real chance to get back in the mix. . . . in the future, but not this year. What do I mean by this? Let’s break it all down.
Offense
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that Kenny Pickett from Pitt was picked in the first round. He was the runner up for the Heisman and brings an extra dimension at quarterback that the Steelers haven’t had in a long time. For what it’s worth, QB Chris Oladokun was picked in the seventh round from South Dakota State. Najee Harris had 1,200 on the ground as a rookie. He will be even more important as the Steelers will try not to overuse their new QB too soon. This could be the last year we see Diontae Johnson as a Steeler. Negotiations for a new contract have not gone far. He’ll work in the slot while Chase Claypool and George Pickens work outside. Pickens was a second round pick from Georgia. They also added Cavin Austin III in the fourth from Memphis. He can also play in the slot and has really good speed. Pat Freiermuth remains TE1 even with draft pick Connor Heyward coming in. Heyward is the little brother of Cam Heyward. He is listed at a tight end/running back and was picked in the sixth round from Michigan State. Derek Watt is the fullback that barely gets used.
Defense
The Steelers are going with the 3-4 with the front of Chris Wormley, Larry Ogunjobi, and the aforementioned Cam Heyward. DeMarvin Leal was picked in round three from Texas A&M. He can play both spots but play end for now. T.J Watt, Devin Bush, Myles Jack, and Alex Highsmith are the linebackers. Watt 22.5 sacks last year. Mark Robinson was picked in round seven from Ole Miss. He has a tough hill to climb. Ahkello Witherspoon, Levi Wallace, Terrell Edmunds, and Minkah Fitzpatrick are in the secondary.
Misses And Projection
The big issue I see is depth at running back. Besides Harris, none of those backs have proven to be reliable. They don’t have a change of pace back either. Tight end depth is also a concern. With a lot of change in an organization happens, sometimes it takes a season to adjust to all the transitions. This is probably one of those cases and I see the Steelers having a down year.