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Every Steelers player ranked by tiers entering the 2023 offseason

By Tommy Jaggi

Pat Freiermuth #88 of the Pittsburgh Steelers in action before the start of a preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field on August 20, 2022 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Courtney Culbreath/Getty Images)
Pat Freiermuth #88 of the Pittsburgh Steelers in action before the start of a preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field on August 20, 2022 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Courtney Culbreath/Getty Images) /
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The Pittsburgh Steelers still have a lot of roster building to do. Here’s every player ranked by tiers as we get set to enter the 2023 offseason.

As we look back on the 2022 season, it’s very clear to see that there are multiple tier gaps in terms of talent between starters on the Steelers. Pittsburgh has a few players who are considered among the best in the NFL at their respective positions, while other starters would prove to be backups on many other teams. Meanwhile, some of the players at the bottom of the roster may have difficulty making it with another club.

The 2022 season taught us something that many of us already knew: the Steelers have a stud-and-dud squad with some promising up-and-comers, but a lack of talent at several key positions.

Throughout this past year, I’ve watched every game at least twice and have spent countless hours on film study and research. Here are my Steelers player tier rankings based on performances from the 2022 season. Let’s start at the top and work our way down the list.

Steelers Tier 1: Elite players

T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Cameron Heyward

In the past, I’ve had T.J. Watt in a tier of his own as he was arguably the single-best non-quarterback in the NFL. However, injuries have taken a toll. This year, I have Watt in the top tier with Minkah Fitzpatrick and Cameron Heyward.

It’s pretty easy to group these three players together. All three defenders have been multiple-time All-Pro players in the past but based solely on their 2022 seasons, they each deserve to be in the top tier. For my money, Fitzpatrick was the overall best player on the team this year and Heyward quietly had another awesome season.

Watt never really returned to full strength when he returned from IR in 2022, but his impact was substantial as Heyward and Alex Highsmith combined for a whopping 17.5 sacks in the second half of the season when Watt was on the field. The ‘big three’ were once again the best players in black and gold during the 2022 season.

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