I haven’t been posting as frequently as I’ve been recovering from a shoulder injury, but the worst is behind me now and hope to be getting an article out at least once a week now through the season, and a lot more stuff on twitter. In my first article back with only a week away from training camp I’m going to do a positional grade breakdown for both sides of the ball.

An exercise like this is always very subjective, but it’s important to understand the small things like depth and age to get a full view of how good a room is. This will also be somewhat of a roster prediction too, because I’m only going to be giving grades to the players who I think will be on the 53-man roster come September.

Defense

Edge

TJ Watt, Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig, Jack Sawyer

You can go right ahead and argue with a wall if you don’t think the Steelers have the best pass rush room in the NFL. The only way to describe the combo of TJ Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig is lethal. TJ Watt is still, in my opinion, the best defensive football player in football, and Highsmith and Herbig could easily be number ones on another team. On very limited stats Herbig had the 3rd best PFF rush grade last year, and that was clear to th eye whenever he was on the field. Highsmith had an overall grade at 89.5 and was a much-improved player against the run.

The common man will yap about them not having the most sacks, but that doesn’t matter when you have the disruption both against the pass AND the run. I don’t know how much of the field Jack Sawyer will see in year one with the talent behind him, but the dude was a beast at Ohio State and provides excellent depth should something happen to the tier-one guys. Watt contract will get done, so that’s not part of this evaluation. Grade: A+

Defensive Line

Cam Heyward, Keanu Benton, Derrick Harmon, DeMarvin Leal, Yahya Black, Daniel Ekuale, Isaiahh Loudermilk, Esezi Otomewo

The addition of Harmon should make this a very strong group. I don’t want to jump to conclusions but it seems like he should be a plug-and-play who can provide a jolt to the interior pass rush. I also really like them adding Ekuale who’s just a very solid player that can stuff the middle. Nothing needs to be said about Heyward, and we need to see growth and improvement from Keanu Benton.

From OTA videos Yahya Black looks like a monster of a man who can hopefully can provide some depth (he better given their wide receiver situation). It’ll be a tough road for Otomewo to make the team, but if he can keep growing his pass rush ability into 2025 like he did in 2024 I think he steals the last spot. Grade: A

Linebackers

Patrick Queen, Payton Wilson, Malik Harrison, Cole Holcomb, Mark Robinson

This is another group that should be great, and improved from 2024. Queen played okay in 2024 but wasn’t consistently great enough for what the Steelers are paying him, and his comments about needing to be better in 2025 support that. Payton Wilson wasn’t an every down player last year but he looked every bit of it when he was on the field, and outside of Jaylen Warren I don’t think there’s another player I’m more excited to watch this year.

Malik Harrison and Cole Holcomb lack the explosiveness Queen and Wilson provide, but they’re solid veterans with a lot of experience for backups. Harrison, along with Mark Robinson, will also be strong contributors on special teams. They kept five linebackers last year and expect them to do the same. Grade: A-

Corners

Joey Porter Jr, Darius Slay, Jalen Ramsey, Cory Trice Jr, Brandin Echols

This group and safety are definitely most interesting positions to discuss after the trade that went down. I’m a fan of the trade, but you can’t ignore it created a hole in the safety room. Nonetheless, the cornerback room is now at the least Top 5 in the NFL and gives the Steelers a ton of flexibility on the backend. How they decide to use the combo of Porter-Slay-Ramsey I’m not sure yet, but they need to figure out a way to consistently have all three of them on the field and not just in their nickel packages.

Trice is still too enticing to cut if he can stay healthy, though one more injury could be the end for him. As for the last spot, I gave it to Brandin Echols over Beanie Bishop because of his experience and the contract the Steelers gave him. I’m a big fan of Beanie so it’s hard to put him on the outside looking in, but Echols has experience both in the slot and the outside, so is another chest piece the Steelers can move around the field. Grade: A

Safety

Deshon Elliot, Juan Thornhill, Miles Killebrew, Quindell Johnson, Sebastion Castro

As of now those five names above are the only safeties the Steelers have signed. Outside of Elliot, who had the best strong safety season in Pittsburgh in a LONG time, things look bleak. Juan Thornhill was once a good player but has struggled in recent years and would truly be the only sour spot on an otherwise star-studded defense if that’s who the Steelers decide to go with Week 1. To me, in a season where you’re seemingly going all in across the board, bringing in a Justin Simmons or Jordan Whitehead seems is the smarter play.

Killebrew is a special teams menace and is going nowhere but has proven he’s not reliable safety. I won’t sit here and tell you I know anything about Quindell Johnson, though Sebastian Castro does seem to have some promise to make the team as an undrafted player. It’s not a great room right now, and if they don’t add to the team (or try Ramsey at safety), it could be the downfall of an otherwise dominant defense. Grade: C-

Offense

Quarterback

Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Will Howard

After a wild offseason trying to address the position, the Steelers settled with four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers who will likely play his final season. Looking back at how things went, I’ve actually changed my stance that I would’ve preferred Justin Fields over Aaron Rodgers. With the draft capital and cap space the Steelers have next year it’s clear they’re going to go all in and trade up for quarterback, so what’s the point of having Fields under contract for another year if he doesn’t pan out? There’s always the chance he reaches his full potential, but until I see I’m taking Rodgers over Fields any day of the week.

I’m excited about Rodgers, there’s no doubt, but you can’t just assume he goes back to his days of throwing for 4k and 40 touchdowns, especially without a true number two wide receiver. I don’t wanna talk about Rudolph and Howard because I don’t wanna see them step on the field. One thing is for certain though, Rodgers is the best QB the Steelers have had since 2020 Big Ben. Grade: B

Offensive Line

Zach Frazier, Isaac Seumalo, Mason McCormick, Broderick Jones, Troy Fautanu, Ryan McCollum, Spencer Anderson, Max Scharping, Dylan Cook, Calvin Anderson

And now we arrive at the season-deciding position group. In my opinion, really no matter how you look at it this group of five is going to determine whether we see another 9-8, 10-7 first round exit or something more. Aaron Rodgers can exceed our expectations, but if they can’t run successfully on early downs and open up play action it’s going to be more of the same.

It’s even a bit scary because it’s not one, not two, but three players up front that need to play well. McCormick in a prove it year-two, Fautanu basically being a rookie, and Jones making the switch from right to left tackle. On the plus side, at least there’s some consistency in the group, with the projected starting five all having a year in Smith’s system under their belt and all having at least one start. They’ll have some time to get their feet under them with an easier early schedule, but they better be humming come in December or they’ll be in trouble again. Grade: B

Tight End

Pat Freiermuth, Jonnu Smith, Darnell Washington

In terms of depth, I don’t know if there’s a deeper group in the league. Along with that, they’re all a different tight end archetype – Freiermuth the traditional every down tight end, Jonnu Smith more receiver-like, and Washington the big blocker. It’s fascinating, and I want to say exciting, but I have to see it work to believe it. Jonnu is clearly Arthur Smith’s favorite player ever, yet the production in their years together doesn’t blow anyone away. Freiermuth isn’t explosive, but he is reliable, something Rodgers looks for in his receivers, and I think he’s poised for his best statistical season yet.

Washington has reportedly dropped some weight this offseason, and though that sounds good in theory, it may take away the Steelers ability to match him up one on one with edge rushers like they did last year. The amount of 12 and 13 personnel the Steelers are going to run this year is comical, and though it’s not the type of offense I want to watch I won’t be upset at all if Smith can find a way to make it all work. Grade: A-

Running Back

Jaylen Warren, Kaleb Johnson, Kennth Gainwell

We’ll have to see how Johnson looks in camp, but on paper right now it’s a great room. I haven’t been shy about saying I’m higher on Jaylen Warren than most, but that’s also because I’ve watched every snap of the guys career. At times he’s been the only offense the Steelers has had, whether on the ground or catching passes, and I’m so excited to watch him get the keys to the offense.

I’m excited about Johnson too, but if Warren plays the way I expect him to (and the o-line plays decent) I don’t think he’ll have a big as a role as people think. Short yardage, goal line for sure, but outside of that I expect it to be Jaylen Warren. Gainwell I’m most excited for in the return game, specifically kickoffs. He’ll have a sparse passing game role on offense, but his impact on special teams could actually make a difference offensively. Grade: A-

Wide Receiver

DK Metcalf, Calvin Austin III, Roman Wilson, Robert Woods, Ben Skowronek

Frustrating is the first and only word that comes to mind. Love DK Metcalf, and I think Calvin Austin will continue to get better, but it’s simply foolish to not add a true number two if you’re trying to go all in. I can only imagine what Heyward and Watt think about this. It’s a clear, unaddressed problem for the second year in a row that Jonnu Smith doesn’t solve, no matter how much Tomlin and Arthur Smith think it does.

The only way I see this not being a problem is if Roman Wilson has a true breakout. It’s hard to see that happening, and it’s too late to add anyone outside of maybe Amari Cooper who clearly teams want no part of. I guess the only silver lining is that they won’t have more than three receivers on the field very often which keeps Robert Woods off the field, but it’s still not an enticing group. The five pass catcher set of Metcalf-Austin-Wilson-Freiermuth-Smith isn’t terrible, but is still bottom-tier throughout the league. Grade: C+

Overall there aren’t really many wholes on the Steelers roster, especially on the defensive side of the ball, but the question marks they do have (QB, O-Line, WR, Safety) loom large. With how serious Tomlin takes defense I have hard time not seeing the safetly problem get fixed, so that really leaves us with the same offensive gaps they’ve had. With training camp a little over a week away we’ll see how things come together, but with all their recent signings and trades at least there’s some energy and excitement going into 2025.