After almost the hottest start possible by trading DK Metcalf on the eve of free agency, the Steelers have made almost zero needle-moving acquisitions since. A big part of that is because of the obvious holdup at quarterback and reserving the money for (hopefully) Aaron Rodgers, but overall I was surprised the Steelers weren’t more aggressive with all the cap space they had. If Rodgers ends up retiring or signing with the Vikings I think they’ll regret not spending more, but regardless they’ve made a bunch of one-year signings that plugged a lot of holes. These rankings could change should any other moves be made, and I’ll be sure to update the rankings accordingly if that happens.

Note: Assuming Aaron Rodgers signs, he would be ranked number two on this list. Best quarterback we’ll have since 2020 Ben (shrug emoji).

1: DK Metcalf

The obvious answer here, the Steelers shocked everyone by sending their 2025 2nd round pick to Seattle for the 27-year-old athletic freak. Like most my immediate reaction was excitement, and it’s hard not to be after watching a bunch of traffic cones try to help George Pickens last year. I’m still excited for what DK brings, especially if they don’t move Pickens before the season and we get to watch them on the field together (beautiful chaos), but after the dust has settled a bit I can say I don’t love the other aspects of the move. A 2nd round pick is okay but not great value, but I get it with the lack of WR talent in the draft this year. The contract is what bothers me a little more. At 5 years $150 million, that puts him in the same AAV range as Tyreek Hill and Amon-Ra St. Brown. Those are both household names and Metcalf to me isn’t at their level, and I have hard time seeing him get there within the Steelers offense. I do understand why the Steelers had to do it though in order to lock up a guy long term, and ultimately what he can provide on the field outweighs what they had to give up.

2: Darius Slay

I debated on who I wanted to put at number two, but with the small number of moves the Steelers have made he’s still too good of a player not to be here. At 34 years old it’s easy to get scared of a drop-off at any point, but Slay showed he can still play at a high level en route to a Super Bowl. I’m going to do a full film breakdown on Slay as free agency begins to slow down post-draft, but I’ve always seen him to be a very fundamentally sound player. He’s got good hips and good technique, and rarely finds himself out of position (which is why I imagine the Steelers went after him with how JPJ plays on the other side). His field awareness and IQ is a big reason why the ball always seems to find him, giving word to his “Big Play Slay” nickname.

3: Juan Thornhill

A veteran safety who will provide much needed safety depth, Thornhill remains in the AFC North after signing a one-year deal with the Steelers. I think the fit is great – a vet safety looking to reestablish himself, while giving the Steelers someone they can play at any time in a true deep safety role to free up Minkah and Elliot. The viral video of him not chasing down a receiver last year surely has to bother fans and coaches, but they wouldn’t have brought him in if they thought that was something that will happen again. They’ll probably need to add another safety in the draft for more depth, but he should give the Steelers defense good flexibility in 2025 and hopefully bring back the Minkah everyone in Pittsburgh has been missing the last two years

4: Brandon Echols

Like Thornhill, Echols will allow the Steelers to mix and match their coverages on all three downs. He played primarily in the slot in 2023 and mostly on the outside in 2024 so he brings a lot of experience and can hopefully plug a long-standing hole in the slot. Steelers fans may remember George Pickens one-handed catch over Echols in the Jets game (was filling in for DJ Reed who was injured), but he was in great position, and sometimes there’s nothing you can do when George does George things. He’s only said positive things so far about Aaron Rodgers as a teammate, and I feel positive about the impact Echols will have.

5: Mason Rudolph

Never in my life did I ever think Mason Rudolph would be a top five free agency signing by the Steelers, but here we sit during probably the weirdest offseason I’ve experienced as a fan. Rudolph was behind probably the league’s worst offensive line in Tennessee last year so I don’t hold anything about his play against him. I still like to reference how well he performed with a make-shift offensive coordinator to end the 2023 season, and showing a lot of fight in the playoffs against the Bills. He provides a somewhat fun option should Rodgers opt to retire, and hopefully plays bad enough to finally get us at least near the top ten in the 2026 draft.

6: Daniel Ekuale / Esezi Otomewo

Per PFF, Ekuale was top 25 for defensive interior players in solo tackles (13th), stops (21st), and total snaps (15th), with a 62.7 run defense grade. At 6’3 310 he seems like a guy that can provide depth and free up Heyward in the run game. Esezi on the other hand barely played, but in the 90 snaps he did play PFF has him at a 71.5 pass rush grade. He clearly has a lot of room to grow, but if he’s able to make the team and provide any sort of pass rush from the interior on third down this is a big win for Steelers.

7: Ben Skowronek

A stud on special teams last year, a great blocking receiver, and a guy with reliable hands, Skowronek was a good re-signing. He’ll be around for two more years, and along with the re-signing of James Pierre the Steelers probably have the best situation at gunner than most teams in the league.

Kenneth Gainwell is an honorable mention for sure, someone I’m excited to see spell Jaylen Warren when he needs it. He’s good in the open field, a great pass catcher, and isn’t afraid to run through the tackles. If the Steelers can ever (!!!) figure out their screen game, a Warren-Gainwell combo would be lethal. Gainwell isn’t higher on this list for two reasons – Jaylen Warren is absolutely incredible and wya more talented than Gainwell, and I hope he’s on the field as much as possible in 2025. Another is because I think the Steelers will draft one of the many stud running backs in this draft, possibly taking away opportunity.

Everyone else is sort of meaningless, and I’d go as far to say I dislike the Malik Harrison signing. They paid more for him than Elandon Roberts signed for in Las Vegas, and I really think they’re going to miss Roberts’ presence. Harrison played poorly against the Steelers when he had to start because of injury against them, and he wasn’t able to crack a starting lineup otherwise after being a third-round pick four years ago. I’m sure he’ll provide solid special teams reps, but I don’t love it on the defensive side.

I’ll definitely be doing an offseason grade once the draft completes, and I’m really curious to see how that goes. Without a second round pick it’s going to make things difficult unless they trade back, and with all the defensive lineman signings it makes me wonder if that’s still their pick in the first round. They’re going to have to work some magic in the draft to have this offseason graded anything better than a C+(unless of course Mr. Rodgers ends up saving the city).