Steelers Now
While most of the offseason hoopla has been surrounding the offensive side of the ball, conversation involving the Pittsburgh Steelers defense has been put on the back burner.
In what has largely been an annual tradition, Pittsburgh is touting the most expensive unit in the entire NFL, taking up nearly $178M worth of cap space, 14% higher than anyone else.
That type of investment comes with expectations. Even after jettisoning George Pickens south, general manager Omar Khan has reiterated that the team is in pursuit of fielding the best team possible.
“We’re focused on trying to win a championship this year. There’s a lot of time between now and the start of the season,” Khan said.
If there’s anything we’ve learned as a collective since his promotion, it’s to take his words involving personnel with a grain of salt. But in this case, I do believe that both he and the organization as a whole are trying to remain competitive in 2025. For better or worse, it’s simply not in their DNA to tear things down to the studs. But in order for their winning vision to come to fruition, they’re going to need their defense to be better than it was last season. They’ll need to dominate.
The 2024 Steelers defense finished 7th in points per drive, 9th in EPA/play, and 20th in success rate. It was undoubtedly a good, but not great, collective that relied a little too heavily on creating splash in the form of sacks and turnovers. When they ran up against top competition down the stretch, the defense faded, and to no one’s surprise, the team’s success fell off a cliff instantly. Most of the starters return, and the franchise spent their first-round pick on defensive end Derrick Harmon, who should find significant playing time right away.
Fixing the run defense has been a massive point of emphasis, and rightfully so, after the Baltimore Ravens embarrassed them to the tune of 299 rushing yards in their playoff loss. But it’s crucial to remember that the pass defense was just as bad during that final stretch, with the Steelers running into significant issues when their pass rush was nullified.
During their five-game losing streak, the defense allowed 9.1 yards per attempt when the opposing quarterback was kept clean, which was the second-worst mark in the league during that stretch per SIS. Pittsburgh’s entire defensive philosophy is to win with their front four up front. In a vacuum, that approach is sound, but when they haven’t been able to dominate in the trenches, everything seems to fall apart. You need a curveball and we know the scheme itself isn’t likely to change. So, It begs the question whether this cornerback room is actually talented enough to hold up their end of the bargain.
The linchpin of the group is third-year cornerback Joey Porter Jr. This is a player that I was extremely high on after his rookie season, but his sophomore campaign illuminated some areas where further...
