The Steelers’ defense was one of the NFL’s best last year, but the group still has some bold predictions that can be made about their 2020 season
The Steelers defense was their saving grace last season, as the team rallied behind the incredible defensive play to break even on the season. Considering this defense is returning almost all of their starters, the Steelers defense should be primed for yet another great season. This unit won’t surprise anyone this year, as a defensive juggernaut the team already has some big believers amongst the media.
Now, there will be some positive and negative play for sure with the unit, as some players are in new positions for the year. There are also new starters at NT and ILB (sort of) that will need to prove they can replicate previous success at those positions. Finally, there are some possible depth issues at various positions that could rear their head and detract from the Steelers season.
Even with the questions above, it will be a disappointment if this unit doesn’t finish as a top-three option this season. They have elite talent at every level, and that should pay dividends when they stop offenses and cause big turnovers.
Thus, coming up with bold predictions isn’t easy. The Steelers shouldn’t expect a lot of regression from this unit, so making a bold prediction for regression isn’t a great move. That said, there are a few bold predictions that can be made about this unit in terms of how successful they can be. All of this considered, here are five bold predictions for the Steelers defense in 2020.
Layne gets shown up by a UDFA
Justin Layne has a lot of potential as a boundary CB, which is why so many fans and analysts gave praise to the Steelers for adding him to the team in the third-round last year. His rookie season went as predicted, playing no defense but getting some time on special teams. The little tape he has comes from the preseason, where he struggled in coverage and appeared to need a lot of development before he could be expected to be a backup. Worse yet, Layne seemed to have a quiet camp for the Steelers, something that doesn’t bode well for his future with the team.
Enter 2020 UDFA James Pierre, an underdog who earned a roster spot due to his ferocious play during camp. Pierre has a similar body type to Layne and would serve as a boundary CB if he was ever called into action. Considering the unique state of this offseason, it is a testament to Pierre’s potential and talent that he made the opening roster.
While he will more than likely won’t be active on gamedays, the Steelers must have felt like he was too valuable to try and stash on the practice squad. If Layne continues to struggle in camp and Pierre can serve as a gunner on special teams, those two could flip flop like how Artie Burns and Layne did last year. If such an event were to occur, don’t be surprised if Layne finds his way off the roster altogether.
Steelers increase their INTs
The Steelers defense had quite a turnaround after the addition of Minkah Fitzpatrick last season. The secondary became one of the NFL’s best, and the pass rush up front was dominant. This led to an impressive 20 interceptions, a high mark for a defense that had struggled to consistently take the ball away. Going into 2020 though, the Steelers defense should shoot for more.
While the DB’s like Fitzpatrick and Joe Haden will likely not top their 2019 numbers, Steven Nelson and hopefully Terrell Edmunds will see their one combined pick increase. As well, Devin Bush was a notable turnover machine when on the field, and considering he will see an increase in snaps could mean a jump in interceptions. While turnovers are part luck, there is an element of talent that naturally affects the total number of turnovers, and considering the unit the Steelers will field, they could see that number increase.
Finally, and arguably most importantly, the Steelers have depth at multiple positions on the defense. While this helps in case of injuries, it also allows the Steelers to scheme their players into more opportune spots. Specifically, with the return of Sean Davis, the Steelers can move Fitzpatrick around more, which could prove deadly due to his ability to pick off passes. As well, Davis could allow Edmunds to assume more of a box safety role, and given his athleticism, it could allow for a couple of interceptions closer to the line of scrimmage. The Steelers besting their 2019 interception number is a lofty goal, but one that is well within the reach of the team.
Carlos Davis carves out a role
To the surprise of most fans, rookie Carlos Davis finally unseated the long-time backup Daniel McCullers during training camp. While being a better player than McCullers doesn’t sound like much, given his late-round status and the fact there were no preseason games this year makes the fact that Davis made the roster even more promising for the young player. Given Tyson Alualu is also learning the position of NT, its possible that Davis could unseat him as the starter down the road.
Davis flashed a lot of positive traits while at Nebraska, but he also seemingly disappeared for stretches as well. One of the biggest questions was if he would be able to show up consistently at the NFL level as well as be conditioned enough to make it through a whole game. Since he has made the roster, the Steelers obviously see something in him that could have made him a target to be claimed by another team had they waived him. This is a positive sign to see so early in his career.
Now to be fair, Alualu isn’t going to lose his role on the team completely, but he could see some of his snaps transfer over to Davis as the year goes on. Davis has a better body to be a base NT, meaning he could unseat Alualu in more obvious running situations as he should be able to get better leverage. Alualu is far more developed as a pass rusher though, meaning Davis would likely only see snaps when the Steelers are expecting a run. If Davis can get on the field early, the Steelers may have found a gem late in the draft.
Edmunds finds his footing
As stated earlier, the reunion between the Steelers and Sean Davis could be a key reason for a lot of Steelers’ success. While Davis won’t start, he will see snaps as a top backup in certain schemes. More than likely during dime defense, Davis will be the SS and Edmunds could play closer to the line of scrimmage as a pseudo-LB. By being closer to the ball, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Edmunds increase his turnovers.
As a former first-round pick, the fact that Edmunds only has one career turnover is disheartening. While he is a solid tackler and is a plus athlete, he simply lacks the ball skills to play deep. Moving him closer to the line would hide some of his coverage fallacies and he could instead focus on being more disruptive. This change of position could see him double his total interceptions and he could add a couple of forced fumbles to his resume.
Steelers fans have been clamoring for Edmunds to shift down from his SS spot to more of an LB spot, and 2020 could be the year to do it. If the Steelers do play him like that, he should finally see his turnover numbers increase. While it may not be enough for him to get a second contract with the Steelers, it would at least go a long way in making his selection in the first-round look better than it has so far.
A surprise leader in sacks
The Steelers pass-rushing unit has developed into one of the best in the league, and while the entire unit will likely have good numbers, the odds-on favorite to lead the team in sacks is T.J. Watt. If for some reason he didn’t, the next logical candidate would be Cameron Heyward or maybe even Bud Dupree. While any of those three have a good shot at having the most sacks, I believe Stephon Tuitt will walk away from 2020 with the most sacks on the roster.
To be frank, Tuitt was unstoppable in 2019 before being lost for the year due to injury. He was constantly in the QB’s face, forcing bad decisions and causing turnovers for his efforts. While his 3.5 sacks look bad for a season total, his injury is the only reason that number wasn’t close to double digits. With offenses having to focus on two LBs in Watt and Dupree as well as the recently resigned Heyward, Tuitt could see even more single blockers which would allow him to wreck opposing QBs.
It isn’t far fetched for Tuitt to log 10 plus sacks in 2020. While he will need to keep pace with Watt, if Tuitt can take advantage of the early season single blocks, he could take an early lead. Assuming his play from 2019 transfers over to 2020, Tuitt could see early season accolades and quickly blow past his previous season sack record. Fans forget how good Tuitt was last season, but they will be reminded of it shortly after the season begins.
While the Steelers defense will likely be a top unit again in 2020, which allows for some of these bold predictions to surface. While all of these aren’t likely to come true, it shouldn’t stop the Steelers defense from shutting down opponents and win big some big games.