The Pittsburgh Steelers finished the 2023 season with a 10-7 record and made the playoffs for the 3rd time in 4 years. And unfortunately for the 3rd time in 4 years – they were eliminated in the wild card round of the playoffs. It was an up and down year for the Steelers as they had some incredibly high highs – like beating the Ravens in week 5 to improve to 3-2 at the time – or even beating the Bengals in week 12 to improve to 7-4. But there were also some incredibly low lows – like losing to the Cardinals and Patriots in a span of 5 days – and becoming the first over .500 team in NFL history to lose consecutive games with both teams being at least 8 games under .500. They would go on to win their final 3 games to finish with a 10-7 record before falling to Buffalo with a score of 31-17 in the wild card round. But the Steelers made a lot of moves this offseason – and several big moves – including trading former first round quarterback Kenny Pickett to the Eagles – and signing veteran quarterback Russell Wilson to a one year deal. They also traded for former Bears quarterback Justin Fields and needless to say – it was a busy offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But even with the offseason moves – I have a lot of concerns with this team moving forward. And I think the Steelers have one big problem entering the 2024 season – which of course is at the quarterback position. But how far can they actually go? Well we’re going to break everything down in today’s video. Now let’s begin
And we are starting today’s video by breaking down who the Steelers lost in free agency and who they acquired in free agency. The biggest signing the Steelers made by far was former Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen. They signed Queen to a 3 year deal worth $41 million dollars and when this contract was signed – and Steelers fans may remember this – but I was a little critical of the signing because of how much money it was for Patrick Queen. This move made Queen the 4th highest paid inside linebacker on an average annual value basis behind his former teammate Roquan Smith, Fred Warner, and Tremaine Edmunds. And no disrespect to Patrick – but he’s not on the same level as Roquan or Fred – and I thought this contract was a little rich for him. But positively what I will say – is this contract protects the Steelers in the long run because they only gave him $13.8 guaranteed of the 41. And at the moment – whether the next guy up is George Pickens, or Pat Freiermuth, or eventually Joey Porter Jr – though that is a few years down the road – the Steelers won’t be able to pay these guys because of the Queen contract – so over the past few months I have come around to it and am hoping he is similar to the player he was for the Ravens last year.
Because the Patrick Queen that played for the Ravens in 2023 – is a pro bowl caliber linebacker and a guy who can be a long time starter for the Steelers. Queen will play this season at just 25 years old and he is a player who – if he stays healthy – will be around the league for at least 6 or 7 more years – so this does have potential long term benefits. They also brought in punter Cameron Johnston from the Texans, they brought back Miles Killebrew, and they also brought in veteran Cordarelle Patterson. And despite being 33 years old – Cordarelle Patterson will be a legit impact player with the new kickoff rules and this could prove to be a really good signing for the Steelers. There’s a very real chance Cordarrelle could return a kick for a touchdown in a week 15 game where the Steelers win 13-10 based on good defensive and special teams play in what would be a very Pittsburgh Stiller win. They also signed wide receiver Van Jefferson and Van is a guy who i’ve always liked and a player who I thought had legit breakout opportunity but unfortunately never did. He had over 800 yards back in 2021 and has had just 578 receiving yards in the two seasons since. I wouldn’t expect that much out of Van this year – but I hope he can be an okay role player and a guy who converts key third downs when you need him. I think Van Jefferson is the definition in 2024 – of buying low with a chance for a decent return. Not 1,000 yards or anything like that – but I really don’t see why Van couldn’t have a 5 or 600 yard season this year in this offense.
Another move the Steelers made that I liked quite a bit was the addition of veteran safety Deshon Elliott. Elliott was a 6th round pick for the Ravens back in 2018 and has made a nice career for himself and has played in 29 games over the past two years – both for the Lions and Dolphins. Deshon isn’t going to wow anybody and he’s probably not going to be a pro bowl safety but why I liked this signing for Pittsburgh was because of what it represents – a good player and a true steady Eddie at the position who’s going to do know his role and do his job well. And anytime you can get that at the safety position for just $3 million dollars per year – well to be honest – I think that’s a hell of a singing for the Steelers. I also like Elliott a lot as a compliment to the multiple time all pro Minkah Fitzpatrick – and think this safety duo will quietly be one of the better duos in all of football this year.
Now for the 2024 Steelers defense – this is a unit I like quite a bit outside of really one position which we’ll get to shortly. There are a lot of positives and it starts with a former Wisconsin Badger which of corse is Nick Herbig. Nick was a 3rd round pick in the 2023 draft and played pretty well in the limited role he had during his rookie year. And I like Nick a lot and think he can step in when need be – and be a contributing player for the next few years. And jokes aside as the obvious former Badger that leads this defense is TJ Watt. TJ is now a 6 time pro bowler and is coming off of a year in which he led the league in sacks, was a first team all pro and finished second in the defensive player of the year voting. Steelers fans please feel free in the comments to let everyone know who you think should have won the defensive player of the year award last year, but with guys like TJ, his running mate Alex Highsmith, and the three big boys on the interior defensive line – veteran Cam Hayward, other veteran Larry Ogunjobi, and second year player Keanu Benton. The part of the defense that I admittedly have concerns with is the secondary – specifically at the corner position outside of Joey Porter Jr.
But with the pass rush the Steelers will have this year – they should still be pretty solid in their pass defense simply because their corners are not going to have to cover as long as other corners across the league. Alex Highsmith has more than come into his own as a player and he constantly displays a variety of pass rushing moves week in and week out – and due in large part to playing on the same team as TJ Watt – I really think Highsmith is one of the most underrated players – not Just on the Steelers – but in the entire league. Highsmith had a career high 69 pressures last year and he has gotten better and more consistent since he entered the league back in 2020. Cam Hayward is now 35 years old and only played in 11 games last year and at this point in his career – you can tell he’s lost a step from the player he was in his prime several years ago – be he’s still a very solid player and I would expect much of the same in 2024. I don’t think he’ll be a 9 or 10 sack guy like he was even as short as two years ago – but he can absolutely push the pocket and play his role well at this point in his career. And to be completely honest – with both Larry Ogunjobi and Keanu Benton there along he defensive line – he doesn’t need to be the guy he was in his prime. Say what you want about the Steelers at the quarterback position and how they’ve handled things over the past several years – but they have done a tremendous job of continuously replenishing the pass rush and being able to get after the quarterback – and in a big way. And in turn – this has helped them win games over the years that on paper at least – you wouldn’t think the Steelers would have any shot at winning. But one big thing that can not happen for the 2024 Steelers – that unfortunately happened multiple times throughout the 2023 season – like during the 49ers game, or like during the Texans game for example – was – if they got behind early – they were done.
And the 2023 Steelers offense was not built to play from behind and that was shown multiple times throughout the 2023 season. They finished 28th in points per game which in turn hurt the defense at times because there was only so much the defense could do. And hell for that matter – there were a few games where the defense basically said “I’ve had enough of the lackluster offense – we’re going to take matters into our own hands – and we’re going to win the game for us” – this was evident in the Browns game in week 2, and the Ravens game in week 5. The Steelers defense forced 27 turnovers last year which had them at 8th in the entire league and I would expect them to be near there again this year. They recovered 11 fumbles defensively and anytime you have TJ and Alex rushing from the outside – well – that puts them in really good hands and by having those two alone – well – that creates a ton of pressure for the opposing offense to get the ball out – and fast. Cole Holcomb was playing well for the Steelers before going down with a season ending injury and I am excited to see how him and Patrick Queen play together this year.
The corners after Joey Porter Jr are Donte Jackson, Josiah Scott, Anthony Avertt, and Cameron Sutton who is suspended to start the year – and for 8 games to be exact. Corner Donte Jackson was acquired in a trade with the Panthers for a pick swap along with receiver Deontae Johnson and to be honest – I didn’t love this trade for Pittsburgh because I don’t think Donte is that great of a player and the corner room on this team isn’t great as it is. I don’t want Steelers fans heading into the year thinking that Donte is going to be a great player and that he’s going to step up and have a career year and be a pro bowler on a great defense. I mean I guess that could happen – but I am incredibly underwhelmed with this corner room. But like we mentioned during the pass rushing part of the video – I think the not great corner play – can be negated by the pass rush.
And not only that – but hopefully – and I mean hopefully – the Steelers can play smash mouth football offensively and run the ball efficiently with Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. Because in turn – that would help out the 2024 Steelers defense. And relative to the 2023 Steelers offense – I can’t imagine there’s not an improvement with the 2024 Steelers offense.
