4 Steelers with the potential to be the best in the NFL at their position
By Tommy Jaggi
The Steelers have some quality young talent on their team. Here are four players who could be the best in the league at their position.
The Pittsburgh Steelers lost eight veteran starters this past offseason along with several key contributors. Replacing them is not going to be easy, and there is something to be said about chemistry – specifically along the offensive line.
Whether you are optimistic about Pittsburgh’s chances in 2021 or you think they’ve got no shot at a Super Bowl, there is some reason to have hope for the future. We know that Ben Roethlisberger’s historic career will soon be coming to an end, but the Steelers have some impressive young talent to rebuild a roster around. Here are four Steelers players with the potential to be the best in the NFL at their respective positions:
Steelers FS Minkah Fitzpatrick
There were many national media analysts who didn’t believe that Minkah Fitzpatrick could repeat his mind-boggling performance from 2019. While the former first-round pick didn’t quite have as many takeaways last season, Fitzpatrick was still fantastic in 2020.
After being one of the youngest defenders to ever earn two First-Team All-Pro honors, Minkah is on the fast track to entering a class of his own at the safety position. In fact, some believe he is there already. However, even this offseason, Minkah was ranked as just the 5th-best safety by Pro Football Focus, and many believe that Derwin James is still the best in the business when healthy.
Other safeties who could be pushing him for this title include Denver’s Justin Simmons and Cincinnati’s Jesse Bates. Minkah is still just 24 years old. With another outstanding season in 2021, he can finally put this debate to rest.
Steelers EDGE T.J. Watt
For my money, T.J. Watt is the most valuable piece of the franchise moving forward. He happens to be a perennial All-Pro at one of the NFL’s most important positions. Because of this, he’s worth even more to the Steelers than Minkah Fitzpatrick.
While many believe that Watt is already the best edge defender in the league, others are not so on board with that idea. Edge defender rankings this offseason have included players like Myles Garrett, Joey Bosa, and Khalil Mack over Watt – with a few others mixed in there as well.
Though Watt may not be the consensus top edge rusher in the NFL at the time being, there is plenty of reason to believe he can get there soon. The two-time All-Pro is an incredibly well-balanced football player who puts fear into opposing quarterbacks and can dominate against the run.
His biggest competition moving forward will likely be Myles Garrett – the Cleveland Browns’ former number one overall pick from Watt’s 2017 draft class. Garrett has remarkable tools and athletic traits and has already proven to be one of the best pass rushers in the league. However, Watt has outpaced Garrett in nearly every statistical department, if he can continue to expand on these numbers and perhaps get a Defensive Player of the Year award under his belt, he could be considered the very best edge defender in the NFL.