The Pittsburgh Steelers have all of their eyes on this week's NFL Combine as they look to find the future stars of the franchise. While the roster needs an infusion of talent, there are a few players who have flashed star potential and could fully break out in 2025. With an aging core of stars (particularly on defense), the Steelers are hoping their replacements could already be on the roster.
Cam Heyward is over 35 and T.J. Watt is in his 30s, so both players may begin trending down as early as this upcoming season. Heyward has laughed in the face of Father Time for years, but even he can only do it for so long. Watt, meanwhile, had a quiet end to his season that was uncharacteristic of him. Here are three players who could soon be the stars of the Steelers roster.
Pittsburgh Steelers who could emerge as stars in 2025
DL Keeanu Benton
Cam Heyward was the Steelers' best interior defender in 2024, returning to form after an injury-plagued 2023 season. Outside of him, nobody along the defensive line was more disruptive than Keeanu Benton. Benton lacks the counting stats to get the recognition he deserves, but he has been an impact pass rusher from the interior over his first two seasons.
Playing with so many sack artists has limited him to just two career sacks, but it is easy to see on film how much potential he has. With Heyward still playing well and nobody else to play nose tackle, Benton has been miscast in that role for way too many snaps so far in his career. With the Steelers expected to add more talent to the defensive line in the draft, Benton could shine as more of a true pass rusher in 2025.
EDGE Nick Herbig
Steelers fans are hoping this time won't be coming any time soon, but life after T.J. Watt is closer than ever before. Watt will turn 31 during the 2025 season, and he had a disappointing finish to the 2024 season by his lofty standards. Alex Highsmith has been an excellent player opposite Watt for years now, but he will be 28 himself before next season. If any player on the roster could be the future star off the edge, it's Nick Herbig.
Herbig has been incredibly efficient as a pass rusher in his first two seasons, racking up 8.5 sacks and six forced fumbles in just over 600 career snaps. He was one of Pro Football Focus's highest-graded rushers in 2024 despite battling injuries throughout the season. He won't get a full workload as long as both Watt and Highsmith are healthy, but he may force his way onto the field if he keeps playing like he has.
LB Payton Wilson
The Steelers have massively upgraded their off-ball linebacker group over the past two seasons, adding players like Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts, and most notably, Patrick Queen. Holcomb has unfortunately missed all but eight games since joining the team, which was a big reason for the Queen signing. However, the best linebacker they have added wasn't any of those players.
Payton Wilson was widely considered a steal at pick 98 in this past draft, and he played like it in his rookie season. He was fourth on the team in tackles (78) despite playing less than half of the defensive snaps. According to PFF, he was by far the team's highest-graded linebacker in terms of coverage. His speed and instincts were on display all season, and I wouldn't be surprised if he supplants Queen as the every-down linebacker at some point in 2025.