The Steelers have had one of the busiest offseasons in recent history, and overall I would say that it has been a successful time for this team. While I wasn’t crazy about every move that was made, this team has been proactive in securing some new talent. In particular, the bottom of this roster has been aggressively churned through.
While there were a lot of moves I liked, there are also a lot of moves I find to be underrated. While everyone hypes up some of the additions, there are some new faces and moves that seem to be overlooked by the fanbase. Here are the five most underrated moves of the Steelers off-season.
5. The Steelers added Markus Golden
One of the more underrated moves by the Steelers is also one of the most recent. The team needed edge depth, as the top option was a fourth-round pick Nick Herbig who lacks the desired size of an edge rusher and may be best suited as an off-ball linebacker. Now, the team has some experienced depth in Markus Golden.
The financials of the deal aren’t known, but assuming the deal is reasonable, this is a great move. Golden is an experienced player that has proven himself as both a pass rusher and a run defender during his career, and he figures to be a great third option in this room.
Yes, Golden also lacks arm length, but he has a stouter frame and has proven he has talent, posting multiple double-digit sack seasons. Given his age and slight decline last year, he should be comfortable taking on the third edge rusher role. I love this deal for this defense, as it gives them three capable edge rushers to mix and match with.
4. Steelers inked Mitch Trubisky to a new deal
Another move that, on the surface, isn’t going to be critical to the success of the team this year, the Mitch Trubisky extension was a savvy move. For starters, the Steelers didn’t have a quarterback under contract past this season outside of Kenny Pickett (and technically Tanner Morgan, but that is grasping at straws).
Getting Trubisky extended past this year provides a lot of security. While his days as a starter are seemingly over, he is arguably one of the best backups in the league. He can succeed in this offense off the bench, as evident by his game against Tampa Bay last year. Having that stable presence in the room behind Pickett is great.
The deal also lowers his cap hit this season, freeing up some space for some more moves and the usual chunk of space this team has during the season. Trubisky and Pickett seem to have a good working relationship, so keeping him around is a smart move. If for some reason he falls apart as a backup, the deal is also extremely easy to get out of
None of this even considers the actual numbers of the deal. Trubisky is signing an extremely team-friendly deal for a top backup quarterback. He is making just under 6.5 million a season now on this new deal, less than the likes of Jacoby Brissett and Taylor Heinicke. Again, this deal doesn’t move the needle all that much, but getting a good backup locked up for a few seasons on a friendly deal is deserving of some praise.
3. Steelers have retooled their offensive line
I struggled with where to put this on this ranking, as the Steelers desperately needed to add some elite talent to this line, but most fans are actively praising the moves made here this offseason. I opted for the middle in terms of how undervalued this is. That said, this was easily the most important move the team made this offseason.
For a team that preached physical play in the trenches, the offensive line had been neglected for quite some time. Even last year, when the focus shifted to building up this line, the only additions were two free agents, who did help the group, but were the only two consistently good players on the line.
The Steelers kept up the aggressive free agency strategy this year as well, first inking Nate Herbig to a moderate two-year deal. They followed that up by signing Isaac Seumalo to a healthy deal, meaning the interior is both strong and deep given the quality of depth there.
That didn’t stop this team from adding Broderick Jones in the draft as well. As opposed to waiting for him to fall, this team took a calculated risk to move up, giving up a fourth-round pick in the process. Jones was the last top tackle prospect in the class, so it was well worth the additional pick to acquire him.
This gives the team three starter-capable tackles and a strong interior of the line. Chukwuma Okorafor is likely the weak link on this line, but he is a consistent player at least. I’m fine with having him be the weakest link as opposed to the strongest one as he was just two seasons ago. The backup center is also up in the air, but regardless, this team finally committing to rebuilding their line was a huge win for this team.
2. Steelers signed veteran Keanu Neal
The Steelers have had some interesting turnover in the secondary this offseason, and while I expect there to be some growing pains, I do like this group overall. Keanu Neal, in particular, was a solid addition on the cheap, as he can fill multiple roles for this defense.
Neal is a strong safety by trade, and I expect to see him play there on early downs given his ability to stop the run. This will also potentially allow Damontae Kazee to work in the slot on occasion. Considering this defense is lacking capable bodies there, that would be a huge win for this team.
Where I really want to see him play is as a subpackage linebacker for this defense. Neal is a defender who plays best close to the line of scrimmage. He is a hard hitter and a good run defender, but his coverage skills are lacking. While he won’t be a pure linebacker like Dallas tried to make him, I do expect to see him get some work there on passing downs.
Considering the off-ball linebacker room is so shallow and is lacking coverage-capable players, Neal can help alleviate some of those issues. I expect him to be a regular contributor on this defense and deliver some big hits once the season begins.
No, this isn’t the Neal of old who was seen as a rising defender in the league and a potential superstar. Injuries took some of that away. What the Steelers are getting is a solid veteran that can fill a few voids for this defense. I expect to see him all over the field, and he was a good get at his price.
1. The Steelers drafted Keeanu Benton
The Steelers draft class is rightly being praised by a lot of people due to the quality of players they got. From top to bottom, this class was a strong one, and I can’t label the class as a whole underrated because of this fact.
One player seemingly flying under the radar is Keeanu Benton. Far less flashy than most of the picks, Benton is a great fit for this defense and has an instant role to fill. While he has the body size and length to eventually be more of a defensive end, he mostly played nose tackle at Wisconsin, and he can step in as a rookie and contribute there.
He is a sturdy run defender that uses his strength to plug holes and occupy space. No one is getting around him in the middle of the defense. He isn’t a flashy pass rusher, but he can shed blocks and get into the backfield. There is also room for him to grow as a pass rusher. At worst, he seems poised to be a good run defender at the next level.
Despite all of these positives, Benton is constantly overlooked in this class. That is partially a testament to just how good this group is on paper, but it also leads me to believe that fans are underrating him heading into his rookie season.
While I don’t believe that Benton has the ceiling that the other three top picks in this class have, he has the highest floor and the clearest path to playing time as a rookie. He may not end up being the best player overall in this class, but I expect him to be the earliest contributor and one that sticks around as a stable run defender for a while.
The Steelers have been busy this offseason, and it has allowed a lot of new faces to join this team. While some moves are being praised heavily, these five were all solid moves that have received less praise from the fanbase, making them underrated heading into this season.