Steelers ranked 11th in latest ESPN preseason power rankings

The Steelers stand to be contenders in 2019, but that didn’t stop ESPN from ranking them as the 11th best team in their most recent power rankings.

It’s been smooth sailing for the Steelers this offseason ever since disposing of of Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell. Pittsburgh has since been making headlines for all the right reasons, and they have been thoroughly impressive in preseason so far.

Though we can’t read too much into exhibition games, Pittsburgh’s defense shut down Patrick Mahomes and the leagues best offense this past weekend, and have allowed a whopping 7 points to Chiefs last week despite missing Devin Bush and Joe Haden.

Still, when it came time for ESPN to update their preseason power rankings, the Steelers were not highly favored.

A panel of experts – including more than 80 writers, editors, and TV personalities – collaboratively ranked the Steelers as the 11th best team in the NFL heading into the 2019 season.

Each team expert chose one player, coach, or staff member who is on the ‘hot seat’ for their organization. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN chose general manager, Kevin Colbert. Here is what he had to say:

"Colbert basically placed himself on the hot seat when he opted to go year-to-year on his contract, citing his age (62) and the need to assess his future with his family. His deal expires in May. The fact that Mike Tomlin earned a one-year extension last month while Colbert didn’t raised questions because the two usually sign in tandem, representing a lack of security for a key figure in an organization that thrives off stability. Both parties have one year to see whether the roster Colbert built will return to the playoffs after falling short last season. — Jeremy Fowler"

It was a bit of a surprise to see Kevin Colbert on the hot seat. Though he had a stretch of failed draft picks that included players like Jarvis Jones, Senquez Golson, and Artie Burns, he has since made up for his shortcomings with an excellent 2017 draft that included T.J. Watt, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and James Conner.

However, as Fowler said, Colbert may decide to walk away on his own terms.

Still, this doesn’t point to the reason why the Steelers are just the 11th ranked team in the NFL this year.

It’s true that the Steelers missed the playoffs in 2018 as they fell a half game out of first place. However, analytics indicate that Pittsburgh was a better team than their record showed.

Regardless of what this panel of experts had to say, all that really matters is that the Steelers prove themselves to be contenders this season. Everything has gone well so far this offsesaon, and the team stands to see improvement on the defensive side of the ball with acquisitions like Devin Bush and Steven Nelson.

The Cleveland Browns were ranked one spot ahead of the Steelers in ESPN’s power rankings. It’s too early to say who will win the division this year, but something tells me that we won’t be talking about Pittsburgh as low as the 11th ranked team by the end of the season.