Despite having a winning record thus far, the Pittsburgh Steelers have had several players not live up to the expectations they came into the season with.
The Steelers came into this season with what was expected to be one of the league’s premier defenses, and while the unit has played well, several players haven’t played as well as they were expected to. But it’s not just on the defensive side there are several Steelers’ who have had subpar seasons.
If the team is going to succeed and make a playoff run this season, the team will need the following four players to step up their play.
4. Steelers Pressley Harvin III
The punter position has not been one of the team’s strengths for a long time, which is why the team chose to address it in the NFL Draft this year. Pressley Harvin III was selected with the 254th overall selection in the seventh round out of Georgia Tech by the Steelers.
The selection came as a surprise to many, but the talent was unquestioned as he was the only punter selected in this past year’s draft. After beating out Jordan Berry with an impressive preseason showing, many had high hopes for Harvin.
However, this season has been full of ups and downs for Harvin. While he has shown flashes of his talent, including a long of 63, he also has seemingly shanked one punt a week for around 30 yards. The talent and sheer power of Harvin is why the team drafted him, and while he is still young and can get better as his career goes along, the team needs consistency now.
With an offense that struggles to move the ball and is forced to punt frequently having a reliable and consistent punter is imperative. With no imminent changes seemingly coming on the offensive side of the ball, the team needs Harvin to show up consistently each punt.
3. Steelers Joe Schobert
Joe Schobert was acquired by the Steelers in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars shortly before the start of this season in exchange for a sixth-round selection. With Schobert signing a five-year, $53.75 million contract before the 2020 season, Steelers fans had high hopes upon his arrival. However, despite the high hopes for Schobert, he has not lived up to the hype.
While Schobert has not played badly as a Steeler, he has not played well either. Instead, the Steelers traded draft capital and are paying a hefty salary for an average player.
Schobert has started all nine games and chipped in 63 total tackles, one tackle for loss, four pass deflections, and one forced fumble. While his tackle numbers have been respectable, Schobert has made very few of what Coach Tomlin likes to call “splash plays”.
In addition to the lack of big plays, Schobert has frequently been beaten in pass coverage and has visibly gone to the wrong gaps in run defense. The most recent example of the latter came on Jermar Jefferson’s 28-yard touchdown run, after Schobert took the outside gap, leaving the middle of the field wide open for Jefferson to accelerate into the secondary and reach the first down before he was even touched.
While mistakes can be expected, Schobert has had too many mistakes and not enough big plays. The team needs him to step up his level of play the rest of the year in order to help stop the run and cover running backs and tight ends in the backfield.
2. Steelers Devin Bush
Like Schobert, Devin Bush was expected to be in the upper echelon of the league’s middle linebackers. The team traded up to 10th overall in 2019, believing that Bush was the missing piece for their defense, which had truly missed Ryan Shazier’s presence at the middle linebacker position.
Bush looked to be what the Steelers were looking for as a rookie when, according to Pro Football Reference, he compiled 109 tackles, nine tackles for loss, two interceptions, and four fumble recoveries.
Unfortunately, last season Bush suffered a torn ACL, and while he appears healthy this season, he has not been quite the same player. He’s been a capable starter but hasn’t been anywhere the elite talent the Steelers’ expected he’d be. The Steelers were expected to have a dynamic middle linebacker tandem this year with Bush and Schobert, but neither has been as good as advertised, and neither has made the “splash plays” that the team expected from them.
With a decision looming after this year on whether or not to pick up his fifth-year option, it appears unlikely at this stage that the team picks it up. More likely than not the team will decline it, and he will enter next season in the last year of his contract. Not only can the team use Bush stepping up his play for the remainder of the season, but it would benefit him as well, as he would help rebuild his value as a player.
1. Steelers Minkah Fitzpatrick
Unlike the rest of the players on this list, Minkah Fitzpatrick entered the season widely regarded as one of the top five players at his position. After T.J. Watt received his contract extension, many discussed how long it would be before the team offered Fitzpatrick a massive extension.
Since coming to the Steelers, Fitzpatrick has been named an All-Pro twice, and a Pro Bowler twice. This year in his third year in Pittsburgh Fitzpatrick’s play has dipped, as he has not made the “splash plays” the team has relied upon him making. While he does have 64 tackles, he has yet to record an interception and only has a single forced fumble.
However, it is not just the lack of turnovers that have shown regression in Fitzpatrick’s game. There have been several instances where he has taken the wrong angle at a ball carrier or receiver which has allowed for additional yardage. While mistakes are understandable, Fitzpatrick has made more this year, without the big plays to make up for it. By no means has he played bad, but the team expects so much out of him, after he had been named an All-Pro in each of his first two years with the team, so they need him to be better.
Out of all of the players on this list, Fitzpatrick is the one on the team most needs to step up. He has become such an integral piece of the defense, and with injuries all over the defense, including from T.J. Watt, Tyson Alualu, Stephon Tuitt, and others, Fitzpatrick must show up and prove his worth. This will benefit the team as well as himself, as a strong second half could help drive up his asking price in extension talks this offseason with the team.
Clearly, the team is in the thick of a playoff race, and with a multitude of injuries all over the team, the Steelers need these players to step up their play to the level they were expected to perform at. They will look to bounce back next week on Sunday night in Los Angeles against the Chargers, after a disappointing performance against the winless Detroit Lions.