Steelers roster ranked 8th best in the NFL by Pro Football Focus
By Tommy Jaggi
The Steelers may have lost some key pieces to their franchise this offseason, but that didn’t stop Pro Football Focus from giving them the 8th ranked roster in the league.
The Pittsburgh Steelers did something this offseason that they didn’t want to have to do: they parted ways with Antonio Brown. After trying to work things out with the All-Pro receiver, Brown forced their hand and ultimately forced his way out of Pittsburgh.
However, even with the loss of Antonio Brown, not all is bad. The Steelers made some pretty big acquisitions of their own this offseason in an attempt to bolster their roster. Pro Football Focus apparently thinks they did a pretty good job.
Recently, ESPN released a tweet of PFF’s top 10 roster rankings. It included the Steelers as the 8th best roster in the league:
It is interesting to note that the Steelers made this list over a team like the Dallas Cowboys (who failed to make the top 10). There aren’t any big surprises in the seven teams ranked ahead of them, as each team was very good in their own right a season ago.
Though the Steelers lost Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell, and Mike Munchak this offseason, the losses to their roster aren’t actually as big as they appear on paper. Bell didn’t even suit up last season, and Munchak was a coach, not a member of the player roster. Antonio Brown was still very good last season, but took a big step back in terms of efficiency when targeted.
Pittsburgh’s biggest addition was first round linebacker, Devin Bush. They also brought in talent from both the draft and free agency that included names like Steven Nelson, Diontae Johnson, Donte Moncrief, Justin Layne, and Benny Snell.
In addition, the Steelers have a number of young talented players on their roster. JuJu Smith-Schuster appears to be an up-and-coming receiver, while T.J. Watt is making a name for himself as one of the best pass rushers in the NFL.
Despite the Steelers failing to reach 10 wins or make the playoffs last season, their offense was top 5 in both yards and points in 2018 and their defense allowed the 6th fewest yards in the league.
Pittsburgh disappointed last season with a 9-6-1 record, but Pro Football Focus seems to think the Steelers are still headed in the right direction. They have a lot to prove in 2019, but if PFF is right, the Steelers still possess one of the best rosters in the National Football League. It will be interesting to see what they do with it this season.