Steelers Roster - Grade

How many Blue Chip Players do you think we have on the Roster?

When I think of Blue Chip I mean an A Grade.
An above average starter but not quite elite at their position is a B Grade.
A solid starter is a C Grade.
Anything below that is a backup or cut candidate.

Offense -
QB - Kenny Pickett - C
RB - Najee Harris - B
RB - Jaylen Warren - B
WR - George Pickens - A (Not being utilized like an A)
WR - Diontea Johnson - B
TE - Pat Friermuth - B (Potential to be A)
LT - Dan Moore Jr. - C
LG - Isaac Sealumalu - B (Playing below his pedigree)
C - Mason Cole - C
RG - James Daniels - B
RT - Broderick Jones - B (Potential to be an A)

Defense -
DT - Cam Heyward - A (Level or play may be regressing to B level but intangibles and leadership make up for it)
NT - Keanu Benton - B (Potential to be an A)
DT - Larry Ogunjobi - C (Leaves me wanting more and play is below what his salary is).
Edge - Alex Highsmith - A (But feel like he is playing below his ability this year).
Edge - TJ Watt - A
MLB - Cole Holcomb - B
MLB - Elandon Roberts - B
CB - Patrick Peterson - C
S - Kazee - C
S - Minkhah Fitz - A
CB - JPJ - B (Potential to be an A)

CB - Chandon Sullivan - C
CB - Levi Wallace - D
S - Trenton Thompson - C
S - Keanu Neal - C
MLB - Kwon Alexander - B
WR - Allen Robinson - C
TE - Darnell Washington - C (Potential to be a B)
RT - Chucks Okorafor - C
NT - Montravius Adams - C
Edge - Markus Golden - C
Edge - Nick Herbig - C (Potential to be a B)

* It is evident the draft this year is turning out to be just what we thought it could be. We have three guys in my mind that could grow into being legit A players. If we can have close to the same draft next year this team will be elite.

With that being said it is obvious there is still opportunity for improvement in the DB and online rooms.

Curious what other peoples thoughts are on our Roster.

 

Can’t grade Pickett just yet because of a lack of proper coaching and play calling

I rate Pickens and DJ a grade lower each

DJ maybe 2 lower based on the lack of mental capacity

 

DJ makes the team better. His numbers are down since Ben retired for obvious reasons. His return provided a spark.

Now, I’m not saying he doesn’t have room to improve, he does. But we need better play calling and better protection for KP to start looking to wide receivers.

We also need KP to develop reading defenses to be able to find open receivers.

 

I agree for the most part. There's nothing egregious where I feel like I need to disagree with the exception of Pickens.
He's a B at best. The only thing about him that's elite is catching contested balls. He's not being utilized like an elite receiver because he isn't one. He doesn't get much in the way of separation. His route running isn't great. His effort is piss poor on a lot of plays. He often gets jammed up at the line. The dude can make circus catches as well as anyone in the league, but that's where it ends. The tools are there, but he hasn't developed them yet.

There's a reason DJ gets targeted far more. He's a better receiver, he just doesn't have the natural tools Pickens has.

 

Blue for agree, red for disagree.

 

The next 2 games and offensive production and cohesiveness might just be what we are looking for. Would love to see continued aggressive play calling along with the QB and Receivers on the same page. The O line has quietly been much better from the start of year and hopefully stretching the field can start opening up the running game. This could help change a lot of these grades and hopefully give the fans 1 or 2 games without their Blood Pressure medication!

I'm going out on a limb and say 14 pt win margin the next three games for the Steelers. Yes I do expect to get "Very Optimistic" ratings but playing at home for 2 and the OC change is just what we may need.

 

I actually like your rankings better than mine with the exception of Ogunjobi.

 

Najee Harris is a solid c.

 

I think the FO has improved our roster over last years. A play off spot is expected from this roster.

 

Is this based on film study?

 

Mostly agree with your list... I personally rank Dan Moore and Chuks as D's, and Ogunjobi as a B..... the rest, I believe are spot on

 

That was pretty cool idea. I'm showing it around the room and most are agreed upon. The biggest disagreement was Center.

 

What has Ogunjobi exactly done to warrant a B? They ran right at him this game multiple times and he offered nothing. He isn’t worth the money they are spending on him. You can see Cam isn’t the same player he was singled up this game and still didn’t provide much push.

this team has a ton of holes.

 

I don't personally agree with your assessment that a C is a solid starter. A C is a backup player to me. Mason Cole and Pickett are backup players in my opinion so I agree with the grades that you gave them, but not the criteria that defines what the grade is.

 

Watt
Boswell
Warren


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everyone else sucks or is average forget about em