We've reached the halfway point of the 2026 season. With the Pittsburgh Steelers coming off their Week 9 bye, this is a great time to reflect on the performances we've seen so far as Mike McCarthy's team sits at 6-2 with playoff aspirations.
While there have been individual standouts who are having exceptional seasons, I wanted to take a moment to rank every positional group on the team so far, based on their collective performances as a unit.
Some of the positional groups are aiding the Steelers in their success, while others are holding them back and could even prevent them from being legitimate contenders this season.
There's still half a season left for the team's weakest positional groups to turn things around, and we could be looking at a much different list by the end of the season. But here's how all 11 of the Steelers' positional groups are ranked heading into the second half of the 2026 campaign.
Ranking all 11 of the Pittsburgh Steelers' positional groups in the first half of the season from worst to best
11. Specialists
Because Chris Boswell has been so good throughout the years, I don't think anyone could have seen this coming. The Steelers have been doing well this season in spite of their special teams, not because of them.
Boswell is converting just 78.3 percent of his field goal attempts—the third-lowest mark of his 12-year career. Meanwhile, Kaden Wetjen has proven to be a disastrous draft selection so far, as the fourth-round return specialist ranks 13th among 14 qualifying players in punt return average (6.8) and 31st of 38 qualifiers in kick return average (22.3), per Pro Football Reference.
10. Wide receivers
It pains me to say this, but apart from special teams, wide receiver might still be the weakest unit on the Steelers' roster this year. Despite heavy investments over the past two years—including a costly trade for DK Metcalf and moving up in the second round of the 2026 draft for Germie Bernard—this unit is still struggling.
Metcalf is having the worst and least efficient season of his NFL career, while Michael Pittman Jr. and Roman Wilson struggled even when healthy early in the season before landing on IR. Bernard has been the lone bright spot, but he's been hit or miss. This is why fans were clamoring for Omar Khan to make a move before the NFL trade deadline.
9. Safety
Safety was likely the worst position on the team in the first month of the season before the Steelers finally realized that Rayshawn Jenkins was unplayable in the back end of the defense. After releasing Jenkins and turning to rookie Robert Spears-Jennings in a bigger role, this group has been much better.
Still, veteran DeShon Elliott hasn't looked like the same player since coming back from injury as he eases his way back onto the field, and Jaquan Brisker has been very up and down. If we're counting Jalen Ramsey with this group, it's better, but safety isn't one of the strong spots on the defense.
8. Quarterback
You could make a case that quarterback should be even lower on the list, as Aaron Rodgers ranks near the bottom of the league in most advanced metrics among qualifying quarterbacks (min. 100 attempts), including EPA per play (29th), success rate (28th), average depth of target (25th), completion percentage (27th), and time to throw (26th), per SumerSports.
We know who Rodgers is at this point, and it's not great. But his ability to take care of the football and control the tempo has been enough to lead the Steelers to victory six times in the first half of the season. He's getting the job done, but he's certainly not going above and beyond.
7. Cornerback
It pains me to say it, but if the Steelers still had Joey Porter Jr., this might be one of the top positional groups on the team. As it stands, it's been both great and awful at times this season.
Jamel Dean is legitimately good, but Asante Samuel has been picked on too often. Thankfully, he's been better in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Daylen Everette looks promising and has carved out some notable snaps in the first half of the season. This unit could get better as the season goes on.
6. Linebacker
If Payton Wilson and Patrick Queen keep playing as they did in Weeks 7 and 8, they could quickly rise up this list. However, we've seen some fantastic linebacker play mixed in with some pretty bad play early in the season.
Recently, this pairing has been one of the best in the league at the off-ball linebacker position, and if they keep that up, it could keep rising in the second half of the season.
5. Tight end
The only complaint I have with the tight ends is that they aren't used enough. Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington are two of the more efficient pass-catchers in the NFL on a per-target basis, and fans have been begging the Steelers to get them the football more often.
Meanwhile, Washington is a wrecking ball with the football in his hands, and he's proven yet again to be one of the best blocking tight ends in the NFL. This is one of the best tight end duos in the league, which makes it a top-five positional group in Pittsburgh in 2026.
4. Offensive line
There have been far too many years when the offensive line was low on this list. While they still have their missed assignments and bad reps here and there, the offensive line has been impressive since making the changes to Max Iheanachor at right tackle and Brock Hoffman at right guard.
On top of that, Zach Frazier has emerged as one of the best (if not the best) centers in the league, and Mason McCormick is having a career season. This is also an extremely young unit overall, with plenty of room to grow in the second half of the season.
3. Edge rusher
We're used to seeing the Steelers' edge rusher unit at the top of the list. And to be fair, they aren't far off. Pittsburgh still has one of the best edge rusher trios in the league with T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig.
The only thing keeping them from ranking higher is the fact that this group has been pretty inconsistent when it comes to generating quick pressure. However, they've been awesome in run defense, and the splash plays are still there (thanks largely to Watt).
2. Defensive line
It's remarkable that the Steelers' interior defensive line can rank this high, even with 2025 first-round pick Derrick Harmon missing a bulk of the season so far. In his absence, Keeanu Benton has taken his game to the next level, while second-year defensive tackle Yahya Black is playing better than anyone could have expected.
Of course, Cameron Heyward is still the ageless wonder who never seems to slow down. This group could be one of the best units in the league once Harmon and Sebastian Joseph-Day come back and are playing at full strength.
1. Running back
Because of the utter dominance of Jaylen Warren this season, No. 1 is the only place the running backs belong on this list. Warren is one of the most efficient skill players in the NFL and should warrant Offensive Player of the Year consideration.
This isn't to take anything away from Rico Dowdle, who's been solid after a slow start and dealing with an injury early in the season. But Warren has been impossible for defenses to stop both on the ground and through the air, and he's helped the Steelers become one of the league's most threatening rushing attacks.
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