The Steeler lost franchise cornerstone and QB, Ben Roethlisberger, early last year and with Mason Rudolph and Duck Hodges at QB, they still finished 8-8 on the year. This year will be different as Big Ben is back and is ready to lead the Steelers back to the playoffs.
Let’s look at the offseason work by the Steelers before the 2020 season.
Key Additions: TE Eric Ebron, OL Stefen Wisniewski, and DT Chris Wormley
Key Departures: Dl Javon Hargrave, CB Artie Burns, S Mark Barron, TE Nick Vannett, and OL B.J. Finney
With the relatively quiet offseason from the Steelers, let’s dive into their starters for this year.
Offensive Starters:
- QB: Ben Roethlisberger
- RB: James Conner
- WR: JuJu Smith-Schsuter
- WR: Diontae Johnson
- WR: James Washington
- TE: Eric Ebron
- LT: Alejandro Villanueva
- LG: Matt Feiler
- C: Maurkice Pouncey
- RG: David DeCastro
- RT: Zach Banner
Defensive/Special Teams Starters:
- DT: Cameron Hayward
- NT: Tyson Alualu
- DE: Stephon Tuitt
- LOLB: T.J. Watt
- LILB: Devin Bush
- RILB: Vince Williams
- ROLB: Bud Dupree
- CB: Joe Haden
- CB: Steven Nelson
- FS: Minkah Fitzpatrick
- SS: Terrell Edmunds
- K: Chris Boswell
- P: Dustin Colquitt
Strongest Position: Linebacker
The Steelers have one of the league’s best linebacker cores in the NFL. T.J. Watt has become a star pass rusher the past couple season, totaling 27.5 sacks the past two years, earning two Pro Bowl Honors and being a First-Team All-Pro. Bud Dupree plays opposite of Watt and had a terrific season earning himself the franchise tag, posting a career-high 11.5 sacks in 2019. Devin Bush is entering his second season and is poised to take on a bigger role for the defense. The linebacker core for the Steelers is going to be the anchor of the defense.
Weakest Position: Nose Tackle
The Steelers lost a huge piece of the defensive line in Javon Hargrave this offseason, as he signed a three-year deal with the Steelers. Now, they move on to Tyson Alualu, who started five games for Pittsburgh last season. Alualu is a ten-year veteran and has had some solid season over his career, but he is a downgrade from Hargrave.
The Steelers are a dark horse team this year. They had a solid season last year despite losing Roethlisberger and with him back this year, the offense is set to produce big numbers. The defense is one of the best in the entire league and is going to do their part this season and the offense will take a huge leap. I don’t see the Steelers winning the NFC North, but I see them as the top Wild Card seed.
