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Earlier this week Pro Football Focus and ESPN teamed up to publish a joint roster ranking of all 32 teams in the NFL. As a whole, PFF/ESPN view the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster talent as decidedly average, ranking it No. 16, just barely within the top half of all teams.
“We looked at both the PFF grades from the 2020 season—a number included for every projected starter—and a more comprehensive look at each player’s career using both PFF grades and statistics,” writes Ben Linsey, explaining how the rankings were developed.
Pittsburgh’s Biggest Strength
Not surprisingly, PFF still likes the team’s pass rush. With the exception of outside linebacker Bud Dupree (lost in free agency to the Tennessee Titans), the Steelers return all of the players who were instrumental in the team producing a league-leading 54 sacks in 2020, including Defensive Player of the Year runner-up T.J. Watt.
“The Steelers led the NFL in team pressure rate last season (45.1%), and they were the only defense in the league that had multiple players generate at least 60 pressures. Each of T.J. Watt (73), Stephon Tuitt (71) and Cameron Heyward (62) reached that threshold. Opposing offenses don’t have enough resources to take all of them out of the game with extra attention,” concludes Linsey.
Pittsburgh’s Biggest Weakness
Meanwhile, there’s definitely concern about Pittsburgh’s offensive line.
“The nicest thing that you can say about the Steelers’ offensive line is that it has potential,” begins Linsey, before reminding us that “Chukwuma Okorafor, Kevin Dotson, Kendrick Green and Zach Banner have played a combined 248 NFL snaps at the positions they’re projected to start the season at. David DeCastro’s recent release … and the signing of Trai Turner just add more moving parts for first-year offensive line coach Adrian Klemm.”
X Factor for 2021
As for a Steelers player who figures to take a much greater role in 2021, that would be cornerback Cameron Sutton, who might play a role in insulating the team from the losses of CB2 Steven Nelson (contract terminated) and slot cornerback Mike Hilton, the latter of whom went to the Cincinnati Bengals in free agency.
“Sutton has ranked in the 94th percentile among all cornerbacks since 2019 in coverage grade on a per-snap basis,” notes Linsey, “though much of that grade stems from his work in the slot as the fourth cornerback in dime packages. Suddenly, he’s the [projected] No. 2 behind Joe Haden and the favorite to start the season on the boundary.”
The Rest of the AFC North
In terms of the rankings of the other three clubs in the AFC North, it’s worth noting that the Steelers have two division rivals ranked in the Top 5, with the Cleveland Browns coming in at No. 3 behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 1) and Kansas City Chiefs (No. 2). Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens are seen as having the fifth-most talented roster in the NFL, while the Cincinnati Bengals are slotted at No. 24.
Pittsburgh opens its regular season schedule on Sept. 12 at the Buffalo Bills, the fourth-ranked team on the PFF/ESPN list. The Steelers also play at Kansas City on Dec. 26. In other words, the Steelers are scheduled to play six games—including four away from home—against teams that are deemed to have Top 5 roster talent.
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