4 most overrated players on Steelers 2024 roster

As fans, we love to stand up for our team no matter the cost. Unfortunately, this loyalty can usher in biases toward players on the roster. There's no question the Pittsburgh Steelers improved their team in 2024, but not everyone on the roster is as good as many fans, beat reporters, or bloggers try to make them out to be.

The best way to evaluate talent is on a spectrum. For instance, how does 'X' player compare to others in the same role or position around the NFL? We want to believe the Steelers are loaded with talent with little room for improvement, but that's simply not the case when you cross-compare their players to 31 other NFL teams.

While the Steelers have plenty of underrated players who deserve more credit and the national spotlight, there are a handful of overrated players in Pittsburgh as well. These five players aren't as good as the general public seems to believe.

QB Russell Wilson

I hate to keep picking on Russell Wilson, but the film over the past three seasons screams that the nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback is only a shadow of the player he once was. With Wilson's personal success and Super Bowl win, his resume is bordering on Hall of Fame status; but we can't let that blind us from the player he is in the present.

Wilson threw for 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 15 games with the Broncos in 2023, but his production was fabricated and included easy touchdown passes at the goal line to inflate his numbers. In reality, Wilson ranked 21st in success rate and 18th in EPA per play last season. His 6.9 yards per attempt and suspect efficiency have The Ringer putting him on 'Washed Watch' as the league's 27th-best QB heading into 2024.

RB Najee Harris

It's often said that the best ability is availability, and Najee Harris certainly has that. In his first three seasons, Pittsburgh 2021 first-round running back started and played all 51 regular-season games. Listed a 6'1'' and 242 pounds, Harris' ability to stay healthy isn't his issue.

Thanks to earning a lion's share of carries in his first three seasons and not missing a game, Harris began his career with three straight 1,000-yard rushing performances. But the efficiency simply isn't there.

Najee has a career average of just 3.9 yards per carry and his 4.7 yards per target in the passing game proves that he's barely worth dumping the ball off to in the backfield. Harris' lack of speed an explosion saw him earn just 1.6 yards before contact last season. At some point, it doesn't matter how healthy you are or how many tackles you can break if you're a running back who offers below-average efficiency.

LB Patrick Queen

Patrick Queen is often labeled as a Pro Bowl linebacker following his impressive 2023 season with the Baltimore Ravens. However, what's seldom talked about is the fact that he's a one-year wonder.

Queen, a first-round pick of the Ravens in the 2020 NFL Draft, was one of the biggest liabilities at the linebacker position in the NFL in his first two seasons. In year three, Queen finally started to turn things around.

There's no question his assignments were made easier after Baltimore traded for LB Roquan Smith. Now Queen will be sporting the green dot and making the defensive calls in Pittsburgh. He's fast to the ball, but we need to temper our expectations.

CB Donte Jackson

Most Steelers fans would agree the Steelers were the initial losers of the trade that sent wide receiver Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers and had Pittsburgh receive cornerback Donte Jackson. While Jackson has been a respectable starter in the past, his career has been up and down and he can't seem to stay healthy.

Throughout his career, Jackson has been known for his athletic traits (4.32 speed) and his status as a second-round pick out of LSU in the 2018 NFL Draft. There's no question that Jackson is going to be an improvement over Levi Wallace and Patrick Peterson as the team's RCB opposite Joey Porter Jr. this year, but the fit isn't ideal.

At 5'10'' and 180 pounds, this zone-heavy cornerback joins a man-heavy team and will be tasked with locking down bigger receivers who can body him on the boundary. At this stage of his career, Jackson should transition to a slot and subpackage role, and there's a chance he proves to be one of the weakest links in the secondary.