The Pittsburgh Steelers Improve on Multiple Fronts

When the weather along the eastern coast warms up after a long winter, everyone’s mood changes in a positive way. When the NFL Draft concludes, the same thing occurs. Weather and NFL draft picks bring joy to everyone. Who knew? Who would ever link the two together? Yet, in reality, anything new always creates positive excitement. Moods are altered. Teams receiving outstanding report cards then behave like a fourth grader headed to middle school. The parties are endless, the praise is overwhelming, and the positivity is through the roof. 

All of us know it’s not real.  The grades are meaningless, the optimism isn’t warranted and football teams on paper never play as well as football teams on grass.  No one has ever won a title as the paper champion. 

 

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However, there is reason for some teams to be optimistic. Not solely from the draft, because combining the free agency period with the draft can springboard a team. Novel thought, I realize. Something that Super Bowl-winning GM Terry Fontenot of Atlanta hasn’t mastered. Having a great draft can add to a team. Having a great offseason can move the win totals.

Before the offseason began, the “Mike Tomlin might not be coming back” rumors started from a popular website covering the NFL. It was the most ridiculous of ridiculous rumors of the year.  Who is a better coach than Tomlin? No one. Who gets more from less? No one. 

So as smart as the Steelers front office has been over the last 45 years, they were never going to replace Tomlin. Finding a great coach is hard, as some teams will find out this season. The Steelers knew their problems were in all three areas: players, coaching and scheme. Therefore, this offseason, they went to work addressing all three. 

During the offseason, the Steelers added linebacker Patrick Queen to their linebacking group, providing a huge upgrade. They traded for corner Donte Jackson and signed safety DeShon Elliott. They fixed their offensive scheme and coaching by adding Arthur Smith as the offensive coordinator. They remodeled their quarterback room by adding Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Both moves are not highly regarded by many, including myself, but are clearly an upgrade over last year. 

With Smith calling plays and designing the offense, the Steelers went into the draft looking for a starting center and another offensive lineman. They get both needs handled with outstanding players. The Steelers had a good idea that Troy Fautanu from Washington would be available at 20, but they weren’t sure that center Zach Frazier would last until 51. With both, their offensive line appears to be ready to blossom. Factor in first round pick Broderick Jones from last year at right tackle and veterans James Daniels and Isaac Seumalo at guards, the Steelers have their best line in years.

At this point, the Steelers draft would have been a success. Then, they added a very good receiver, Roman Wilson, in the third round and one of the best defensive players, linebacker Payton Wilson, who slipped this far only because of his medical. 

The Steelers have been looking to replace Ryan Shazier since his injury in 2017. By adding Wilson and Queen, they might have moved closer to finally achieving that goal. Why has this been so hard? Why is it so important? Because the Steelers rely on the speed of their inside backers to play both run and pass. And finding linebackers who can play the run with physicality along with being able to cover in space, is hard—really hard. 

Remember, when your Mike Linebacker is slow, the defense is slow. When the Mike cannot play vs. all personnel groups, the offense gains an advantage. And this occurs far too often.  Announcers will mention downs as the main reason a linebacker is off the field, which is a 2000 analysis. Today, downs are meaningless. Personnel groups determine the viability of the player. 

If a good run-down player cannot play vs. 11 personnel (three receivers, one tight end), then his usefulness is severely limited. Also, the Steelers get accused of allowing their backers to be in man coverage on receivers, which demonstrates the people doing the criticism don’t understand their scheme.

The Steelers want their inside backers to handle the width of the field and cover the first receiver to the flat, which often stresses the backers, especially if they cannot run. With Wilson and Queen, they now have fast, instinctive backers, which will propel their defense. 

When Friday night ended, the Steelers, who won 10 games last year, became a better team by a wide margin. In my mind, they have closed the gap on every team in the division, as long as Wilson doesn’t hurt them with mistakes, something he didn’t do with the Broncos last season. He protected the ball. If that trend continues, the Steelers will be in the hunt come December and cover their 8.5-win total. 

Thoughts on the NFL Draft

We have to understand that the draft cannot vault a team as a stand-alone player procurement method. The combination of the offseason and the NFL Draft matters the most. Don’t tell the Falcons this; they operate on their own agenda. 

Grading the entire offseason is what matters, from coaching additions to scheme changes to the addition of talent. Adding good players with the wrong scheme or bad coaching can nullify the additions. It takes perfect harmony between coaching, talent selection, and the willingness to develop the talent. When these three things are in unison, players can immediately contribute if their skill set allows. 

Besides the Steelers, here are some teams that have worked well from the last game until now. 

  1. Philadelphia – The change of both coordinators along with all the talent additions have vaulted the Birds to the best team in the East. The NFL Draft was the icing on the offseason cake, adding two excellent players to a secondary that needed help. 
  2. LA Rams – The Rams made their lines an offseason priority. They added two guards in free agency and two talented defensive line teammates in the draft, Jared Verse and Braden Fiske. They now have more depth, and if Matthew Stafford is healthy, the NFC West will be a slugfest. 
  3. LA Chargers – Let the battle for LA begin. Adding a tough-minded, competitive coach to their team will allow the Chargers to win close games, something that was hard for them in the past. They have improved their offensive scheme, will be more physical and will allow Justin Herbert to play at a high level. A new coach and raising the level of play for the quarterback is a great remedy for improvement. 
  4. Cincinnati – Having Joe Burrow healthy is a great offseason in itself.  Adding two new safeties from free agency will help the defense, along with Amarius Mims at offensive tackle and Kris Jenkins at defensive tackle. The Bengals are in a good spot heading to camp, even with two players screaming for more money. 
  5. Washington – The only place for the Commanders to go was up. They have improved their core with their additions in free agency and talent in the draft. With better coaching on both sides of the ball, they should be able to pass the 6.5-win total if Jayden Daniels plays well. I am not ready to make that bet. I am ready to say Washington has improved its roster through the off-season. 

Improving the roster might not mean more wins, as there are so many variables in play for teams before camp. Can the young players stay healthy? Can they learn quickly? Are they able to move from amateur to professional? Being a professional requires taking your new job seriously and do everything necessary to contribute. After three months of being recruited, loved, and pampered, the good players get back to their routine and accept the next challenge. The ones that linger behind won’t. The good news is we will have time to sort through all the data. 

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