Edge defender
As bad as the cornerback position looks on paper for the Steelers in 2021 compared to 2020, the edge defender position isn’t far off. Last year, Pittsburgh had arguably one of the best edge tandems in the league with T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree. Watt is a two-time first-team All-Pro Player and former Defensive Player of the Year candidate, while Dupree was coming off arguably the best season of his career in 2019 and followed it up with an impressive 11 games before tearing his ACL last season.
Many thought that the Steelers could use a first or second-round pick to replace Dupree in the draft this year, but Pittsburgh didn’t take an outside linebacker until Quincy Roche in the 6th round. After losing both Bud Dupree and backup Ola Adeniyi this offseason, this is simply not enough help.
Obviously, Watt is terrific, and Alex Highsmith looked very promising during his rookie season. Unfortunately, the depth at the outside linebacker position is non-existent and there is nobody who can be counted on. I would expect the Steelers to look to add help at this position before the start of the season.
The Steelers don’t have a lot of money to work with, and they may not get a whole lot better at these positions prior to the start of the season. However, there’s no question to me that these three positions are noticeably worse on paper than they were just a year ago.