Predicting the Pittsburgh Steelers starting lineup in 2020
By Tommy Jaggi
Defense:
DL: Cameron Heyward
DL: Stephon Tuitt
NT/DL: Tyson Alualu
EDGE: T.J. Watt
EDGE: Bud Dupree
ILB: Devin Bush
ILB: Vince Williams
LCB: Joe Haden
RCB: Steven Nelson
Nickel: Mike Hilton
FS: Minkah Fitzpatrick
SS: Terrell Edmunds
Apart from the change at nose tackle, everything else remains the same here. Tyson Alualu was a rotational defensive lineman last year. While Tomlin indicated that he would be taking snaps at nose tackle this year, the Steelers only run their base defense a small percentage of the time. Alualu will also likely be used in certain nickel rotations as well. Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt will rarely leave the field when healthy.
T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree will essentially be full-time edge defenders for the Steelers again this year – continuing where they left off in 2019. Meanwhile, Devin Bush and Vince Williams will be paired alongside each other at inside linebacker. However, Williams could be replaced in sub-packages by Ulysees Gilbert.
In the back end, Joe Haden, Steven Nelson, and Mike Hilton will continue their roles from last season, while Pittsburgh moves forward with the young safety tandem of Minkah Fitzpatrick and Terrell Edmunds – both first-round draft choices in 2018.