The Pittsburgh Steelers have been busy overhauling their roster under the leadership of new head coach Mike McCarthy. From top to bottom, this team is quickly being built in his image.
With a whole new crop of rookies, the reunion with Aaron Rodgers, and the exciting veteran additions, this roster already feels a lot different than in year's past.
With training camp just around the corner, here is my best guess as to how the roster will shape up before the pads come on this summer.
Pittsburgh Steelers cut numerous fan favorites in updated 53-man roster prediction
QB (3): Aaron Rodgers, Will Howard, Drew Allar
Everyone already has this group written down in pen. I, however, was this close to having Will Howard off the roster.
Aaron Rodgers and Drew Allar are locks. Rodgers is the obvious starter, and Allar gets a red-shirt year as a third-round pick.
Everyone swoons over Howard, but he is completely unproven at this point. Sixth-round quarterbacks aren’t guaranteed a lot, so there is a real chance he misses the roster entirely.
The only reason I kept him is that the Steelers have spoken so highly of him. They clearly want him to be worthy of keeping. Assuming he gets the opportunity in camp and the preseason, I’ll maintain that this is his job to lose.
If Mason Rudolph gets more snaps than anticipated though, I will very quickly change my tune.
RB (3): Jaylen Warren, Rico Dowdle, Travis Homer
I’ve overhauled my last roster prediction here, as I have the team only keeping three backs and cutting two young options.
This backfield will be dominated by Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle. Assuming both stay healthy, it isn’t unthinkable that they have 90 percent of the touches out of the backfield. That means depth options need to provide value on special teams.
That is Travis Homer’s calling card, making him the perfect third running back. Eli Heidenreich could steal that spot if he proves to be a viable special teams force.
Kaleb Johnson, meanwhile, lacks special teams value all around, so his roster spot is hard to justify. Unless he makes himself uncuttable in the preseason, I’m starting to think he won’t make it to the regular season.
WR (6): D.K. Metcalf, Michael Pittman, Germie Bernard, Roman Wilson, Ben Skowronek, Kaden Wetjen
This group feels pretty chalk. The only question is whether the team will end up keeping five or six receivers. Roman Wilson needs to earn that final spot, but all signs point to him trending in the right direction.
TE (4): Pat Freiermuth, Darnell Washington, Robert Tonyan, Riley Nowakowski
The top two names are obvious and should give the Steelers a strong duo to rely on from the tight end position.
The depth is pretty solid as well. Robert Tonyan was a late addition to the roster, but he profiles as a perfect fit as a third tight end. He can block, is a dependable, albeit declining, receiver, and can even play on special teams still.
Riley Nowakowski is a hybrid tight end and fullback. The team clearly wants someone in that role, and he could prove to be a chess piece for this offense.
OL (8): Troy Fautanu, Gennings Dunker, Zach Fraizer, Mason McCormick, Max Iheanachor, Dylan Cook, Brock Hoffman, Spencer Anderson, Broderick Jones
The question along the offensive line is whether Broderick Jones is healthy and whether the team keeps more than eight options on the active roster.
Starting with Jones, it is beginning to feel like no matter what, he won’t be playing this year. Even if healthy, he won’t regain the left tackle spot from Troy Fautanu, and I can’t imagine the Steelers plan to move him back to the right side. If he is healthy in camp, I fully expect him to be on the trade block ahead of cutdowns.
The rest of the line is chalk outside of injury. The question will be whether anyone else makes a push to claim the ninth spot. I don’t see enough potential outside of some names best served sitting on the practice squad next season.
DL (7): Cam Heyward, Keeanu Benton, Derrick Harmon, Yahya Black, Sebastian Joseph-Day, Dean Lowry, Anthony Goodlow
The position group I am most looking forward to seeing this summer is potentially two roster spots wide open for anyone to claim this summer.
The top five are known commodities and roster locks. A sixth spot seems like a guarantee, and recently, the team has favored carrying seven defensive linemen.
I opt for the do-it-all veteran in Dean Lowry and the perfect build, pass rush upside of Anthony Goodlow. It makes for a solid back end with both a dependable option and someone with some upside.
That means both rookie options miss the active squad. I’d guess both can take a year on the practice squad to develop.
EDGE (4): T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig, Jack Sawyer
No questions here. I’ve toyed with keeping a fifth name in this group, but will stick with the four locks for now until proven otherwise.
LB (4): Patrick Queen, Payton Wilson, Cole Holcomb, Carson Bruener
While no one would mistake Malik Harrison as a fan favorite, he is certainly a notable name missing from the final roster. To me, it is an easy choice, as he proved not to be worth a single cent that the Steelers paid him last year.
Brought in to be a run defender and a special teams star, he was mediocre in both departments. I have the team keeping core special teams players at other positions, so the need to keep Harrison around isn’t there.
The rest of the room feels secure beyond that. Even Carson Bruener, as he figures to become a leader on special teams this year.
CB (6): Joey Porter Jr, Jamel Dean, Asante Samuel, Brandin Echols, Daylen Everette, D’Shawn Jamison
I’m going heavy in the secondary as it is one of the deepest positions on the team, and I don’t want to sacrifice talent just to keep some lesser options at other positions.
While some shuffling could happen via trade, the top five feel locked into their spots. Asante Samuel will battle rookie Daylen Everette for the top outside backup job, while Brandin Echols proved to be a great do-it-all depth piece.
D’Shawn Jamison may be a surprising name on this list, but his special teams play last year was excellent. He also provides another body to serve as depth in the slot defender room.
S (5): Jalen Ramsey. DeShon Elliott, Jaquan Brisker, Darnell Savage, Robert Spears-Jennings
The top three names are set and should get the majority of the playing time. Beyond that, it is a numbers game in the safety room.
Darnell Savage quietly feels like a necessity right now. He can step in on defense and play if needed, and he profiles as a potential free safety fit, something the other depth options lack. He can sit as an inactive each week but provide insurance if there were an injury.
That leaves Robert Spears-Jennings and Sebastian Castro fighting for a special teams role. Castro has more experience, but I’ve had a sip of the Spears-Jennings Kool-Aid, and I liked it. Special teams was his calling card in college too, so he should be able to pick things up sooner rather than later.
ST (3): Chris Boswell, Christian Kuntz, Cameron Johnston
While I’m as skeptical of the punting situation as the next guy, the fact of the matter is, there is no other punter on the roster right now. Until given a reason to look elsewhere, this feels like the three specialists.
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