The Pittsburgh Steelers' biggest roster holes became glaringly obvious as the 2025 season marched on. Fans were concerned about the lack of talent and depth at several key positions... and it turns out they had every right to be. Unless they pull off an upset win against the Ravens this week, their season will end in heartbreak once again.
Despite the front office's efforts to patch their biggest positional needs last offseason, Omar Khan and company failed to find long-term solutions to their biggest roster problems (outside of a few promising draft picks from last April).
Thankfully, the Steelers are getting set to enter a 2026 offseason with ample salary cap space and a dozen draft picks at their disposal.
Because of this, we could see significant roster turnover early in the offseason (and maybe that's a good thing). Statistically, the Steelers have been only an average team, at best, in 2025. With a new offseason on the horizon, Pittsburgh might finally find resolutions to its biggest roster flaws.
Ranking the Pittsburgh Steelers' biggest roster needs ahead of the 2026 offseason
Biggest Steelers Need No. 1: Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers has had his moments during the 2025 season that reminded Steelers fans of his Green Bay days. Unfortunately, these have been few and far between. The 42-year-old quarterback may decide to hang up his cleats for good during the 2026 offseason, and even if he doesn't, the Steelers need to start putting the focus on the future of the team.
Franchise quarterbacks are irreplaceable in the NFL, and the Steelers haven't come close to finding one since Ben Roethlisberger. Getting the right guy under center could change everything in an instant and inspire the hope this fanbase has lacked in recent years.
Veteran Mason Rudolph is under contract for the 2026 season, and 2025 sixth-round rookie Will Howard could stick around for a while. Still, this team needs to invest big into a potential franchise that can be around for the long haul.
Biggest Steelers Need No. 2: Wide Receiver
Just when it looked like the Pittsburgh Steelers were going to have a two-headed monster at the wide receiver position with DK Metcalf and George Pickens, Omar Khan traded Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys in May. Now this team is back to square one.
At roughly $33 million per season in new money average, we could argue that Metcalf is overpaid. But there's also no question that he's the best receiving option on the team—and he's in desperate need of a counterpart who could help alleviate the pressure from him. That need has only gotten more glaring with his suspension keeping him out against the Browns in Week 17.
Roman Wilson showed flashes, but hasn't taken the step forward fans expected in his second NFL season. Meanwhile, the Steelers haven't invested a first-round pick in the wide receiver position since taking Santonio Holmes 20 years ago. Wide receiver might be the second most important position in the NFL besides quarterback, and this team is desperate for an upgrade in the starting lineup.
Biggest Steelers Need No. 3: Linebacker
Are you surprised to see linebacker as a top-three roster need for the Steelers entering 2026? You shouldn't be... at least not after the way Patrick Queen has played in 2025. While 2024 third-round pick Payton Wilson didn't take the second-year jump that we had hoped, he still flashes promise of being the full-time starter and defensive signal-caller at the position.
Queen, on the other hand, does not. Whether head coach Mike Tomlin wants to admit it or not, Queen has been a liability in pass coverage all season, and he's too inconsistent game to game and week to week. Now gearing up for his sixth full offseason, there's no reason to expect him to improve at this point.
The Steelers have had major issues trying to find long-term answers at the off-ball linebacker position since the career-ending spinal injury to Ryan Shazier in 2017. Pittsburgh can save over $13.3 million by releasing Queen in the final year of his contract in 2026 and using the cap savings to bolster the linebacker position (or something else entirely).
Biggest Steelers Need No. 4: Cornerback
After an up-and-down start to his NFL career, Joey Porter Jr. has played well enough to warrant a second contract by the Pittsburgh Steelers. After all, there's only a handful of CBs who can play press-man coverage as he does.
Meanwhile, James Pierre is having a spectacular 2025 season that nobody saw coming. However, Pierre is a bit of a one-year wonder, and he will turn 30 years old during the 2026 season.
If we learned anything from the Steelers' defense in 2025, it's that they need to get younger and more explosive in the secondary. I wouldn't be shocked if Khan used a pair of draft picks to add youth and depth to the cornerback position in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Biggest Steelers Need No. 5: Offensive tackle
As much as we hoped that Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu would be the bookend offensive tackles of the future for the Pittsburgh Steelers, that's hardly guaranteed to be the case. While Fautanu is making strides, Jones still struggled with poor mechanics and sloppy technique before a neck injury landed him on IR late in the season.
Even if the plan is to roll with Jones for the 2026 season (and potentially beyond), the Steelers' offensive tackle depth was decimated in 2025. They can ill-afford to let this happen again, and finding a quality swing tackle is a must this coming offseason. Dylan Cook may even be the answer, but he is already 27 years old (28 on January 11th) and has just his limited experience from this season.
Biggest Steelers Need No. 6: Defensive tackle
Despite all of the investments the Steelers have made to their interior defensive line in recent years, this team still has major question marks at the defensive tackle position. Keenu Benton and 2025 rookie Yahya Black had immense difficulty holding up at the point of attack at times this season, while Derrick Harmon missed multiple games with knee injuries.
To make matters worse for a struggling defensive line, Cam Heyward turns 37 years old during the 2026 offseason, and the long-time star defender is inching closer to the end of his NFL career. The Steelers were plagued with several injuries to their defensive line in 2025, and they'll need to enter the 2026 season with more depth and talent.