Who are your top five Steelers as key to our success this year?

I believe the top five assuming others like Frazier, Porter, Heyward continue as they have been are:

1. Yahya Black - we haven’t had a true Nose a space eater to occupy blockers, push the pocket and keep the inside linebackers clean since Casey Hampton. With the smallish athletic inside linebackers we currently have I believe it is crucial to have a large NT to do just that, keep them clean so they can flow to the ball.

2. Jamal Dean - when was the last time we had two legit shutdown corners? It’s been a while. Playing two press man corners can do wonders for our pass rush as well and Dean is one of the best tackling cb’s in the nfl against the run.

3. Peyton Wilson - if he can play up to his potential it will solidly the defense as a top ten unit as the floor.

4. Micheal Pittman - if he plays as good as he did in Indy it will open up the -assign ga,e for Rogers and Metcalf to develop a true connection especially downfield.

5. TJ Watt - He needs to recapture some of what he was a couple years ago. He can’t allow himself to be taken out of a play on one on one blocks. He needs to at minimum have low double digit sacks.

Bonus - Rodgers has to be a little better than last year. He can’t be afraid to get hit. He needs to be able extend plays a little better and roll out and push the ball downfield more. I be;wove that is possible with better oline play which I expetc and better game planning which I expect. I don’t believe we will face the blitz or stacked boxes as much this year with better receiving options to keep the defense honest, a better run game, better oline and a spread west coast offense to prevent the stacked boxes. This will all work in Rodgers favor.

obviously the offensive line is crucial but I believe they are going to take a step forward in development this year and further gr-w into their potential. The core is a year older and they have better coaching, more depth and more upside with some of the new additions.

 

Good points! Worth discussion! I just have to resist the urge to say the top on the list is Tomlin being at NBC instead of Pittsburgh.

1. Yahya looks legit, let's hope!
2. Dean is getting up in years but amn would that be nice!
3. Patrick Queen has to improve his play from last year!
4. And let's hope that DK's relationship with AR will lead to improved maturity!
5. I have faith in TJ, our defensive game plans sucked last year!

 

I notice you did a fine job of resisting the urge

 

I like your list.

It's cheating to think of them as a player, but I'd put basically the OL on there to. 4/5 guys either new starters or different positions from last year. Doesn't really help with the "AR needs to be able to hold on to the ball longer" idea. OL needs to gel quickly.

 

Max Iheanachor
Troy Fautanu
Whoever the hell is playing NT
Payton Wilson
Patrick Queen

 

Nobody is saying much about him but Spencer Anderson as full-time starter at right guard. He was ok in spot duty last year but 60 snaps a game is a different story. He played almost 100% of snaps against the LAC last year and the team couldn't crack 80 yds rushing. Steelers absolutely need the run game to work this year.... for AR's sake.

 

I'm trying! It's like an addict who can't stop snorting cocaine, or shooting herion.

 

1.) Max Iheanachor: Fair or not, he also accounts as an X Factor for the 2026 Pittsburgh Steelers. He was doing quite well but got injured and has been doing individual work on the side thus far. A shame the team won't see him for tomorrows Preseason Game but I would imagine that wont be the case come the second game around.


2.) Payton Wilson: My initial pick though for me some of Wilson's shortcomings was due to a defense that was too simple for its own good; Wilson's lack of gap integrity and instincts paying the price for it. Now armed with a new DC who is much different that Teryl Austin, he is now officially out of excuses. Put up or shut up time for him.


3.) Danny Crossman: Shocked that not a lot of people are mentioning him but Danny definitely deserves to be on here. His previous stint with the Dolphins had them finish 26th in overall Punt Yard Average. Pittsburgh ended last season dead last in Punt Yard Average. Keep in mind that, unlike many other positions sans Kicker, Geography and Location matter for Punters. Danny isn't the one doing the punting but he is responsible for both the evaluation and coaching of Special Teams. Getting Pittsburgh out of dead last and having the team finish inside the Top 20 will constitute as a successful season.


4.) Jason Simmons: Pittsburgh's Pass Defense was... not very good to say the least. The most damning stats for the unit were 57.37% and 11.9 respectively. That number represents the percentage of Passing Plays allowed on First Down as well as the amount of First Downs allowed through the air by the team per Team Rankings. Pittsburgh's Corner room is in better shape than it was a year ago but still remains largely in flux depth wise. The Safety Unit is worse. Jason Simmons needs to maximize his current crop of talent while getting even better results than a year ago.

5.) Roman Wilson: If there ever was a time as any, now would be the time to earn your keep on the roster; if not secure a bag in FA. Wilson has the talent and the athleticism to be a productive WR in the NFL. His biggest issue has been putting it all together. Now is the time to do so.