What are realistic expectations for the Steelers 2019 season?

What can fans expect from the Steelers defense in 2019?

The Steelers defense is still, in my opinion, a huge question mark.  I know we traded up in the first round to draft Devin Bush, but I think the Steelers gave up too much to get him.  This puts a tremendous amount of pressure on Bush to perform immediately because that is what fans expect from first-round picks of the Steelers. Is it realistic to have that expectation?

Yes, Bush is fast, but I can’t reconcile how he, at 5’11”, will be able to cover a 6’5″ TE running down the seam.  Most assuredly, Bush will be able to match him stride for stride, but if it’s a jump ball, who do you think is going to win that match up?

Hopefully, the reality will play out that Bush will not be asked to cover TEs, but rather to cover RBs in the flat.  I think it’s reasonable to expect him to be able to cover any RB, particularly with the speed he possesses.

As far as the OLBs are concerned, I think the expectation is that TJ Watt will continue to perform at a Pro Bowl level, that Bud Dupree will finally put it all together and become the OLB the Steelers expected him to become when we drafted him in the first round, that the backups will be able to perform when called upon and that the Steelers will be able to apply pressure on the opposing QB as needed. Is this reality?

I do believe Watt will continue to perform at a Pro Bowl level.  I do not believe Dupree will justify the fifth-year option the Steelers picked up in the offseason.  I think Dupree will be solid, but will ultimately not live up to his first-round moniker; that will be unfortunate.  I really hope he has the best season of his career because the defense needs him to do so. That’s the reality of the situation.

As far as the backups are concerned, if any combination of Ola Adeniyi and Anthony Chickillo or Chickillo and Sutton Smith or Smith and Ulysees Grant or Ola and anybody else can provide quality reps when called upon, that would be great, obviously.  I think that’s a reasonable expectation.

The defensive line will be solid again, I believe.  Cam Heyward will continue to play the way he has played since he arrived in Pittsburgh.  For the Steelers sake, I hope Tuitt will continue to perform at a high level as well, although I think the reality is this:  The defense just works better when both Heyward and Tuitt are consistently stout against the run and can consistently apply pressure to opposing QBs.

I think it is a reasonable expectation that Javon Hargrave will continue to improve his game.   Although he does not get as many snaps as Heyward and Tuitt, he needs to make the most of the snaps he does get.

The D-line backup depth is a question mark, in my opinion.  Dan McCullers MUST  take a huge step forward in his development.  He has the frame to be the unmovable object in the middle of the D-line.  He just needs to believe it, as far as I’m concerned.

Tyson Alualu is a former first-round pick who has been relegated to a back-up role since his arrival in Pittsburgh. I don’t see his role changing, but the Steelers need quality backups who can perform admirably when called upon.  That is both a reality and an expectation.

I think the rest of the D-line is a ‘wait and see’ situation. Will Isaiah Buggs, a sixth-round pick this year, push Alualu for playing time?  I think it would behoove the Steelers defense if he can provide any competition for Alualu.

If there is any position group that needs to improve its game in 2019, it’s the secondary.  Although the Steelers have continually drafted corners, the signing of Steven Nelson speaks volumes about the ineptitude of the current crop of corners.

If the Steelers were confident that Artie Burns could bounce back and regain the form he displayed in his rookie season, Nelson would not have been signed.  That, I believe, is the reality.  For the sake of the defense, Burns needs to re-acquire whatever confidence he had as a rookie, otherwise, he will become yet another Steelers first-round bust.

The deep secondary, the safeties, are a question mark if you ask me.  I think Sean Davis is solid; he’s not flashy but is solid.  He does need to step it up in the takeaway game.  Terrell Edmunds most definitely needs to take a huge step this season.

I don’t know about you, but I am of the opinion that Darius Leonard, the 2018 Defensive Rookie of the Year, who was selected after Edmunds and could have been a Steeler, would have had more of an impact on the defense last year than Edmunds had or will have this season.  Just my opinion.

The reality for the Steelers, however, is that Edmunds, Davis, Marcus Allen and any other defensive back on the team, corner or safety, is expected to improve to the point where the ‘rush and coverage’ philosophy can become the norm and not the exception.

The defense is at its best when the opposing QB is pressured, thus allowing the secondary to cover for the time it takes for the QB to either get rid of ball hastily or for the time it takes for someone to sack said QB.

So what can Steelers fans expect for the 2019 season?  I wish I knew.  I do believe we will be a better team than we were last season, but will that be enough to win the division, to win a playoff game, to get to the AFC Championship game, to win said game to get to and win the Super Bowl?  I think Steelers fans expect these things to transpire because that is the reality of being a Steelers fan.