3 positions on Steelers roster that greatly improved since 2021
By Tommy Jaggi
The Pittsburgh Steelers roster is far from perfect, but here are three positions that have greatly improved on paper in just one year’s time.
This is the time of year when fans of every NFL team seem to be very optimistic. If you were to take a poll, my guess is that most of them believe their team has improved since the end of the 2021 season. However, this obviously won’t prove to be the case.
Without trying to fall subject to the same biases, Pittsburgh Steelers fans do have reason to be optimistic about the roster additions (at least on paper). This certainly doesn’t mean that they are guaranteed to have a better record in 2022 than they did last year, but it could be a step in the right direction. Here are three positions that greatly improved since 2021:
Steelers wide receivers
Before ever watching George Pickens or Calvin Austin take an NFL snap, I have all the confidence in the world that Pittsburgh’s wide receiver corps is going to be noticeably improved from the lackluster unit we all witnessed last year. There are several reasons for this.
For starters, Chase Claypool really had a down season last year after a remarkable rookie campaign in 2020. With a quarterback that better fits his skill set and (presumably) can hit him in stride down the field, I predict he makes major improvements in year three.
I also don’t believe that James Washington or Ray-Ray McCloud offered the team much of anything last year. They were, more or less, bodies to put out there. Even JuJu Smith-Schuster wasn’t effective at all for the five games he was healthy.
The additions of Pickens and Austin as well as Miles Boykin and All-Pro return man Gunner Olszewski should grossly outweigh Pittsburgh’s losses at the position last year. This will be an improved unit.