Steelers to Watch in 2015: Offense
By Justin Roem
Last week, I wrote about things I’m looking for on the defensive side of the ball in 2015. This week we’ll take a look at the Steelers’ offensive side.
On offense, we know a lot about a lot of positions. Le’Veon Bell, Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Heath Miller are known quantities. As are Maurkice Pouncey, David Decastro, and Ramon Foster. The other players on the line should continue to improve with another year under line coach Mike Munchack.
Markus Wheaton, Martavis Bryant, and Dri Archer are the ones to watch. Of these three, Bryant looks to have the biggest impact.
Scorching defenses for eight touchdowns in just ten games, this lanky speedster is the threat that Ben has been looking for. If he can stay attached to Antonio Brown at the hip this offseason, he can improve by leaps and bounds. As Bryant said himself, the sky is the limit.
Wheaton is clearly a skilled player, but he is coming close to being the fifth option in this offense, despite the fact that he is often the second or third wide receiver. With the emergence of Bryant, the receiving skill set of Bell, and the reliability of Miller, Wheaton could find himself as the odd man out if he doesn’t make strides this year.
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For Archer, I’d like to see some more return opportunities. He only had the chance to return 10 kicks last year (1 punt, 9 kickoffs). On offense, Haley will have to be creative, because teams will be expecting something different every time Archer gets on the field.
I’ll take a closer look at the draft and the incoming prospects as we get further into the Steelers’ offseason, but I am interested to see what the Steelers do about the tight end position.
Heath Miller is not getting any younger, and has no heir apparent on the current roster. The Steelers signed the uber athletic Michael Egnew to a futures contract last week, but he is a project at best.
This offense broke records in 2014. They need to keep the arrow pointing up.