5 second-year Pittsburgh Steelers poised for big seasons in 2022

Steelers DB Tre Norwood

I’ve got to admit: Tre Norwood played much better (and much more) during his rookie season than I would have anticipated. When the Steelers drafted Norwood in the seventh round last season, I was worried about his lack of athletic traits, but that didn’t seem to get him in trouble very often as a rookie.

Norwood showed great instincts and had a knack for coming up and stopping the ball carrier short of the chains on third down. As a late-round pick, Norwood is never going to be guaranteed his spot in the defense or even a role with the team, but he showed enough for Pittsburgh to give him another shot as a hybrid secondary defender who can help make plays on the football.

Now that he has had a full season to get acclimated to this role, I think Norwood could be poised for a breakout campaign in 2022. If he continues to make plays, it’s going to be hard to keep him off the field.

The Steelers are really banking on their 2021 draft class to step up big for them this coming season. If they can do that, this team will be in pretty good shape moving forward. I think these five players could have pretty big seasons in 2022.