Pittsburgh Steelers player tier rankings following 2021 season

Tier 3: Approaching Pro Bowl level

Steelers: Diontae Johnson, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pat Freiermuth, Ahkello Witherspoon, Najee Harris

Now, placing these players in this tier doesn’t mean that I think all five of these guys will be Pro Bowlers at some point in their careers. Rather, I think their play lies somewhere that’s significantly above NFL average and below Pro Bowl level.

Minkah Fitzpatrick, for example, has already been a Pro Bowler twice in his career, but I don’t think he quite played to that level in 2021 (though the second half of his season was much better than the first half). I am confident that Minkah could boost himself into the tier above this again next season.

As far as the other four players go, Diontae Johnson easily had the best season of his career –though fans will remember his drops over his final few games. He earned 107 catches, 1,161 yards, and 8 touchdowns with just 5 drops on the season.

Likewise, I thought Ahkello Witherspoon was easily the best cornerback on the team (once he finally became a starter down the stretch). Though he didn’t really kick things off until Week 11, you could barely complete a pass on him over the final seven games and even in the playoffs.

Rookies Pat Freiermuth and Najee Harris are both going to be very good players for this team. Though I contemplated putting them in tier 4, I really do think they are approaching Pro Bowl level and their play should only continue to improve in 2022.