Steelers Tier 3: Quality starters
James Daniels, Chris Boswell, Terrell Edmunds, Najee Harris, Mason Cole, Larry Ogunjobi, Damontae Kazee
When it comes to quality starters who don’t need to be replaced, the Steelers don’t have nearly as many as some of the top-tier teams around the NFL. However, these guys deserve some respect for their accomplishments during the 2022 season.
On the offensive line, James Daniels and Mason Cole proved to be quality additions, as they did as much as we could have hoped for during their first season in Pittsburgh. Both players earned respectable overall grades above 66.5, according to PFF. From my observations, Daniels and Cole were the most consistent players on the offensive line in 2022.
Joining them in tier 3 are defenders Larry Ogunjobi and Damontae Kazee. Ogunjobi didn’t put up the sack numbers we would have liked to have seen, but he was disruptive at times and probably earned himself a payday during the 2023 free-agency period. Meanwhile, Kazee isn’t a starter for the Steelers, but he played well enough that he could be. After returning from injury, Kazee showed solid ball skills and coverage ability as he gave the secondary a boost. Terrell Edmunds had another respectable season.
Najee Harris had a shaky start to his 2022 season, but really turned things around over the second half of the year with a quality campaign. Chris Boswell steps back a tier this year. He had trouble staying healthy in 2022, but he was nowhere near as consistent as he was in his previous three seasons. He converted just 71.4 percent of his field goal attempts in 2022.