Many fans seem to be pleased with the way things shaped up for the Steelers in 2022, but Bleacher Report suggests Pittsburgh will regret their offseason.
Most Steelers fans I’ve talked to are very pleased with the way that the 2022 offseason turned out for Pittsburgh. Kevin Colbert was able to use the most free-agent spending money the team has ever had to beef up several positions that were thoroughly lacking both depth and starting talent.
For one of his final moves as general manager, Colbert drafted a quarterback he hopes will bring success in Kenny Pickett. Following his departure, new GM Omar Khan was quick to make a few big moves of his own — signing All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to a contract extension and inking a one-year deal with free agent defensive tackle, Larry Ogunjobi.
However, not everyone is in agreeance that the Steelers took the right approach during the 2022 offseason. Recently, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox talked about teams that will regret the choices they made in 2022. Pittsburgh was near the top of the list.
Knox pointed to several factors as to why this may prove to be the case. For starters, he mentioned the strength of the quarterback class in 2023 — headlined by C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young — but understood that the Steelers aren’t in the business of taking.
While he didn’t say that taking Kenny Pickett in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft was a mistake, Knox doesn’t think that Pickett is entering the greatest situation. The biggest reason for this is the lackluster offensive line. Instead of settling for mid-level starters, Knox believes the Steelers should have done more to address the position. He thinks they made a mistake by not going after top-end talent like Terron Armstead or La’el Collins.
Because of the decisions they made during the 2022 offseason, Knox believes that Pittsburgh could have a wasted year with Mitch Trubisky at the helm this season, and perhaps another as Kenny Pickett goes through growing pains in 2023.
These are all valid points, but will the Steelers really end up regretting their 2022 offseason?
Steelers 2022 offseason may just be average
Obviously, we won’t know how good Pittsburgh’s 2022 offseason will be until a few years down the road. While some fans think that this is one of the best offseasons the team has had in a generation, I would caution against overrating some of the moves they made this year. When it’s all said and done, I feel that this could look like a pretty average offseason — not the best and not the worst.
There are a couple of reasons why I think this could be the case. For starters, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Kenny Pickett selection in the first round this year. I thought that Pickett was a high-floor prospect who had some question marks when it came to arm talent and one good year of college production. I think it’s likely that Pickett could become a middle-tier NFL quarterback in time.
My biggest beef with the Steelers offseason that I had from the start was piecing out their money for average starters instead of spending big on a few stars. This is nothing out of the norm for Pittsburgh. In my opinion, the Myles Jack, Mason Cole, and Levi Wallace signings felt very much like the Eric Ebron and Trai Turner signings over the past few seasons — bodies that can fill a starting role but won’t offer much else.
However, I did love that James Daniels acquisition, and signing a talented interior pass rusher like Larry Ogunjobi late in the offseason was an unexpected treat.
At the end of the day, I do think that we need to temper expectations when it comes to the Pittsburgh Steelers 2022 offseason, but I don’t necessarily think it’s one they are going to regret down the line.