With the Steelers still in the playoff hunt, they need to get more out of these four players moving forward.
The Steelers have had quite the turnaround this season. After their miserable start, the team has rebounded to get their record back in a respectable state. That said, there are still some players that are underwhelming on this roster. No matter what their expectations were coming into the season, they have underperformed in 2021.
Here are four Steelers players that need to play better for the rest of the year.
Steelers Ahkello Witherspoon
The Steelers made a relatively surprising trade at the beginning of the season when they gave up a future fifth-round pick for cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon. The expectation was that he could chip in some snaps as a reserve given his decent play previously. Ever since he has joined the team though, he has struggled to make it onto the field, and worse yet his play when on the field has been mediocre.
Witherspoon’s first game came against the Raiders, and he was soundly beaten by Henry Ruggs. Witherspoon got the nod this past week, and the results weren’t anything special. He was a liability in coverage and his tackling was just ok. It was a meh performance overall, and he needed a stronger one given his weak play so far this season.
At this point, there may not be a point in hoping Witherspoon plays better. The veteran should be riding the bench for the rest of the year unless injuries continue to mount in the secondary. It has been a waste of a draft pick so far, as Witherspoon hasn’t been worth a roster spot let alone a draft pick. If he has to see the field again though, Witherspoon needs to play better.
Steelers Kevin Dotson
One of the brightest stars of the Steelers 2020 draft class was an unexpecting fourth-round pick. Kevin Dotson wasn’t designated to start right away, and by most accounts, he was going to need some work in the pass blocking game, but Dotson stepped in early and produced at a high level. There were some high hopes that Dotson would make the transition from reserve guard to second-year star this season.
While he hasn’t been bad as a lineman this season, his play certainly hasn’t been as good as most expected him to be. While he has been the Steelers’ best lineman besides maybe Trai Turner, his play is lacking the ferocity that he had as a rookie. There hasn’t been that second-year leap that most expected Dotson to make. PFF has him graded at a 64.1, a good but not great score especially considering he was in the upper 60s last year.
Perhaps the issue with Dotson was his weird offseason. The second-year guard was dealing with injuries and there were some sudden reports that he was going to get benched. Add in his injury now and his 2021 season has just been off. Ideally, when he gets back, he begins building off the promise he showed last year. Again, Dotson hasn’t been bad by any means, but he has failed to make the big jump this new offensive line could have used.
Steelers Minkah Fitzpatrick
While Dotson not making a big jump has been a disappointment, Minkah Fitzpatrick failing to play at his normal elite level has been a detriment to this team. There has been a lack of splash plays by the free safety, as he has failed to record one this season. Considering his ball-hawking nature, him not grabbing an interception yet is a letdown.
Beyond just his turnovers, Fitzpatrick has been playing a little worse overall just as a safety. His missed tackles are slightly up (nothing substantial though). His coverage has been significantly worse though. Quarterbacks have completed 73.3 percent of their passes when targeting Fitzpatrick and have posted an average rating of 122.8. Neither of those numbers are good enough.
With Fitzpatrick hoping to become the highest-paid safety next offseason, he hasn’t done enough to warrant that this season so far. Perhaps the loss of so many pieces in the secondary has forced Fitzpatrick to do too much. No, Fitzpatrick isn’t a bad player even in a down season, but he needs to get his season back on track this year. If he wants to earn his big new deal, his play has to get better this year.
Steelers Devin Bush
It goes from bad to worse for the Steelers, as Devin Bush has been single-handedly the most disappointing player for this team so far. While he was injured all of last season, there was hope that the athletic linebacker would break out this year. That was especially so when the team added a great running mate in Joe Schobert for Bush. It seemed like the third-year player was ready to breakout.
The results have been anything but so far. Bush has struggled in just about every situation so far this year. In run defense, Bush has taken some extremely poor tackling angles and has lacked the instincts and aggression to fill running lanes property. As a pass defender, he has failed to make the proper reads and is usually caught off guard by whoever he is covering. There has been very little that Bush has done well this season.
Bush isn’t just struggling as a player; he is a liability on defense. He is being outplayed by the consistent Schobert and there is a chance a better run defender like Robert Spillane could see the field some more. Bush has to play better over the final part of the season. If he wants to have any shot of the team picking up his rookie option, he needs to become more of a consistent defensive player.
The Steelers are still in the playoff hunt, but if the team wants to be seen as a serious contender, they will have to get some better play out of these four players. Each has disappointed in some way so far, but with just under half a season left, each can still turn their season around.