5 most underrated Steelers on the roster heading into the NFL Draft

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a very talented roster as they look to add depth in the NFL Draft. Here are five Steelers on the roster that often get overlooked.

Amongst the likes of TJ Watt, Najee Harris, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and Cam Heyward is a very strong supporting cast. However, some of these Steelers don’t get quite the run in the media that their teammates are used to. There are only so many splash plays to be made in just 60-minutes of play in a game.

The Steelers supporting cast built around their stars allows them to feature and highlight their star players’ talents. But as the stats show, there is enough on the plate for everyone on the team to make an impact. Here are Pittsburgh’s most underrated players heading into the 2022 NFL Draft:

Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds

The offseason is a time for teams to negotiate contracts and look to add players in free agency. However, the offseason for fans is a time to be critical of some players and GMs and to dream about bringing in that unicorn from another team. I definitely was dreaming that the Steelers would sign Tyrann Mathieu to replace Terrell Edmunds.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting an improvement at the position, but you run into problems when you don’t realize the talent and consistency you already have in Terrell Edmunds. The 25-year-old safety has started in 60 games over 4 seasons. As if that isn’t a strong enough point, Edmunds played and started in every game in the 2019 and 2021 seasons. We know the injury rate in the NFL is high, so to play two seasons straight without missing any time is really impressive.

In comparing Edmunds to his teammate, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Edmunds leads the two in sacks and tackles for loss. Now, Fitzpatrick does lead the two in interceptions, but that’s his style. Fitzpatrick seemed to be a ball magnet once he was traded from the Dolphins in the 2019 season. He tends to make the bigger, flashier plays on defense. These splash plays often overshadow what Edmunds is doing throughout the game.

Edmunds finally re-signed with the Steelers for another year at just $2.5 million. That was a little low in terms of the pay but I think it works out well for both sides. The Steelers get to keep a consistent and talented safety and Edmunds gets another shot at proving he’s worth a long-term extension.

Edmunds is a necessary piece to this defense and bringing him back was the right move by the Steelers. Edmunds’s talents combined with Fitzpatrick’s makes a very strong safety pair in the Pittsburgh secondary.