A young Pittsburgh Steelers is exciting, but too soon

PITTSBURGH, PA - AUGUST 20: Joshua Dobbs
PITTSBURGH, PA - AUGUST 20: Joshua Dobbs

It’s too early to hand the Pittsburgh Steelers to a bunch of rookies.

Yes, it’s true. The Pittsburgh Steelers may have the next generation of superstars, but right now, they’re nothing more than a bunch of rookies. With the most experience they have coming against a mix of starters and third stringers, these first-year players are nowhere near ready to beat out future Hall of Famers.

T.J. Watt is the exception. Right now, with no regular season experience, he’s already a Pro Bowl caliber player. Maybe he’s not the guy James Harrison was in his prime, but in a year or two, he should be even better.

That’s where it ends, though. Josh Dobbs, Cameron Sutton, James Conner, they’re all just guys waiting for their opportunity. Maybe they’ve impressed so far during the preseason, but with the players they have in front of them, it’s not their time to take over any starting role.

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Le’Veon Bell may be getting on fans’ nerves. But at the end of the day, once he steps on the field he’s arguably the best running back in the NFL. Whether or not that’ll be the same way next season is something everyone will have to wait until then to find out. For right now, though, it’s impossible to even to consider letting a back with 20 carries and 98 career yards take over.

Josh Dobbs isn’t even a question. Although, most people already know that. But if you’re one of the few that are even thinking about Dobbs being “the guy” right now, you should watch a little more football.

In a few years, heck maybe even next year, this team may be ready to hand the reigns to players under the age of 23. Until then, though, it’s a Super Bowl contending team and needs to remain that way with superstar veterans.

Because love them or hate them, Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown can win this team a Lombardi. Dobbs, Conner and JuJu Smith-Schuster can’t.

You may be mad. You may be blinded by the flair of the young guys. And you may be overly excited about the future of the Pittsburgh Steelers. But there’s no reason to rush to what will be when the present is this bright.

Next: 5 Steelers who should've made the HOF

Yeah, the Steelers are going to be a lot of fun to watch in five years.

They’re also a lot of fun to watch right now.

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