Do we have any players in top 10 by position?

I would say we certainly do by talent and pedigree but in some cases that didn’t match up with production.

OLB/Edge -
Watt is a top 3 in talent and pedigree. Even with his tailing off in the last month he still produced as a top three overall.

DT -
Heyward is a top 5 still in talent, pedigree and production. I think he led the league in batted passes at his position.

FS -
Minkah is a top 5 in pedigree and talent, but he wasn’t close to that in production this year.

ILB -
Queen is a top 5 talent and pedigree but I would say he is more like a top 15 in production. Im not sure he is being coached and schemed right to take advantage of his athletic ability. Tomlins defenses aren’t ILB friendly at all.

SS -
Elliot is a top 15 talent and pedigree but I feel like he produced top 10 in production.

CB - I don’t think JPJ is a top 10 pedigree or talent yet. He has the potential. They need to coax it out of him and scheme him according to his strengths. In fairness the front seven didn’t help out the Cb’s much this year.

* This defense had arguably four top five talents with every level of the defense being represented. There is no reason this defense should not be a top 3 defense in the league in multiple categories.

On offense I would consider three players to be possible top 10 at their positions:

C - Frazier I believe is already a top 10 in pedigree, talent and production. He is only going to get better provided the Steelers don’t interfere with his development.

TE - Friermuth is top 15 in pedigree and talent and I would say his production is fairly close to his talent. I do think with better QB play we could get more out of Firermuth in the passing game. Truthly what is holding him him back is his blocking and his YAC.

WR - Pickens is defiantly a top 10 in talent. His pedigree is skewed because of his attitude and his lack of effort when the play isn’t to him. His production is listed because he is an ok route runnner who doesn’t always get open or create separation and he has below average QB play effecting his opportunities.

* This offense is still a work in progress. They still need more talent and they need to stabilize the offensive line and run game and support whatever QB they have with as many weapons around them to enable them to succeed.

At the end of the day the team can stand to add some more talent on offense and a few places on defense but ultimately the coaching has to get better to take advantage of the talent we do have currently on this team. When you look at the above players listed I would say four of the players produced to their expected talent level in Watt, Heyward, Elliot and Frazier. That to me is an indictment on coaching and scheme.

 

Somewhere there is a correlation with "talent" level and time of possession. With the inefficiency of the O in recent years, doesn't really matter how many top 10 players you have on D to offset the time they spend on the field. When the Steelers were winning this year, they dominated the clock and the D performed well. When the O faltered and the D was on the field for 40 minutes or so, they wilted.

 

You're giving some of these players too much credit, maybe Watt and Minkah play has slipped due to father time. Queen isn't a top 5 ILB and he wasn't in Baltimore either.

 

I don't know--- we have some top tier players--But they either didn't perform up to their talent in the end games----or they were injured or used wrong or both. whether it be scheme or something else,,, there was no way we should have lost all those games at the end. But yes, we have top 10 players.

 

The most important positions in the new NFL are QB, O-Line, and D-Line. You need to be able to run the ball, protect the QB, and rush the passer.

We are not strong in any of these areas. I don't see any top 10 guys. The O-Line has been ongoing issue since Munchak left. The Steelers want to run the ball, but are just not very good. We have never replaced Big Snack at NT. Our defensive line kind of gets owned against teams that can run the ball.

TJ when healthy is top 10, OLB that is a DE effectively, but he is aging and does disappear at the worst times. Maybe him.

It helps to have a game breaking WR/TE and lockdown CB. There is Pickens, though some want rid of him. Porter is improving.

We do have that Kicker. Somebody has to score points.

Khan and Tomlin have a lot of work to do in the offseason. The O-Line and D-Line is not good enough. More talent, better schemes, and better development. I have some doubts this will happen.

At least they don't copy how the Jones boys run the Cowboys in Free Agency, which is to go on vacation on yacht.