The Steelers are in a critical position this season. They seemingly have their franchise quarterback on a rookie deal, and the Super Bowl window has to be open while they have their signal caller on a friendly deal. That starts this season.
While I have plenty of skepticism as to how this team will ultimately produce this year, I do think they are firmly a playoff team. Once there, anything can happen. That said, their success is hinged on the success of certain players.
While everyone naturally has a role, some players need to continue to grow and improve upon their previous season. While names like T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Cameron Heyward, and Alex Highsmith all need to maintain their productivity, there are other players whom the team can’t afford to see bad seasons from. Here are the five Steelers players that can’t regress this season.
Steelers need James Daniels to remain consistent
James Daniels was a big-name free-agent addition from a year ago. He was brought in with the hopes of stabilizing the line, and for the most part, he did on his side. Daniels was arguably the best lineman this team fielded, and I am excited to see him grow into his role.
Daniels seemingly struggled with being on a new team and learning a new scheme last offseason. He was a notable loser during training camp, but he found his legs early and was a productive player down the stretch. While the line struggled last year, Daniels was a bright spot.
He needs to continue to get better (he is young enough to see more improvement), and he can’t fade as a player either. This line was once again a focus of the offseason, and while the entire play should improve, Daniels needs to continue to step up and get better. The offense really can’t afford to see him regress during his second season in Pittsburgh.
Steelers can’t have George Pickens regress
One of the most exciting picks from the Steelers draft class last season was George Pickens. While unproven out of Georgia, Pickens flashed elite traits and has the size and build you look for in a dynamic receiver. He produced well as a rookie, earning more playing time as the season went on and seemingly making an impressive catch every week.
While his ability as a contested-catch maker and deep threat were proven as a rookie, he still has areas he needs to improve upon. His route running is lackluster, and his ability after the catch and separation ability needs to get better. While he will never be a big yards after the catch threat, he has to do better than how he did as a rookie.
The Steelers had a similar situation with Chase Claypool a few seasons ago. Coming off of a dynamic rookie year, Claypool didn’t build off anything, and defenses schemed around his ability to score. While I do believe Pickens is a better natural receiver, if he doesn’t take a step forward, it won’t be good for this offense.
If Pickens were to regress, that would leave a massive hole in the receiver room. Again, everything doesn’t have to come together at once, but picking up some more yards after the catch and running some better routes will be huge. If he is stagnant there, he could have a similar arch as Claypool did in his second season.
Steelers are banking on Patrick Peterson not regressing
Despite not having played a single down for the Steelers yet, the team is seemingly banking on Patrick Peterson not taking some steps back. Cornerback is a notoriously hard position to play as you get older since speed and athleticism are huge elements of the position, and Peterson is no spring chicken. He will be 33 this season, and father time is undefeated in the NFL.
Peterson will also be seeing some athletic marvels at the position this year. The Bengals boast one of the best-receiving cores in the league, and the Steelers will have to match up against them twice. While not a dynamic group, the Ravens have a lot of speed at the position. The Browns, meanwhile, have also upgraded the room and feature some genuine threats at the position.
Banking on an aging Peterson is dangerous. Sure, the ideal scenario is that Joey Porter becomes the defacto top guy, but that likely won’t be early on this season. Cornerbacks usually take a few weeks to get their pro game working for them, and Porter may not be ready to be the top guy at all as a rookie.
Running Peterson out as a top cornerback at his age is already a risk. That hasn’t stopped the Steelers from also seemingly trying to have him replace Cameron Sutton this offseason. Sutton would work as an outside cornerback and move inside to the slot when the position was needed. Peterson is seemingly expected to do the same thing despite having never worked out of the slot for most of his career.
If Peterson is still the same good cornerback that he was last year, this move won’t be horrible. Peterson can maintain a high level of play while also working on his ability as a slot defender. If age begins to catch up to him, the Steelers and the secondary will be in trouble, as they have some options to be that top guy, but it will take some time before they are ready.
Steelers need to get some worth out of Najee Harris
Unless the Steelers offensive line goes through a litany of injuries, the excuses for Najee Harris will likely need to stop this season. While not a perfect unit, this line has been rebuilt and has a lot of room to exceed expectations depending on how well Broderick Jones produces.
While Harris has a huge fan base given his hard running, he hasn’t been an efficient player so far in his career. While he has some decent-looking stats, he has benefited from a heavy workload and an added game each season. Do not be mistaken, despite the ok stats on paper, Harris has struggled to be an integral part of this offense. While you can blame the line for some of those reasons, Harris needs to take his game to the next level this year.
The pressure is certainly on. The Steelers have decided to focus on the running game this offseason despite the league being a passing-oriented one. While the passing game will still be important, the running game figures to be the core focus for the team. The line is built around this, and additions like Allen Robinson and Darnell Washington keep the running game as an option even when the offense has additional weapons on the field.
Frankly, Harris has no excuse besides an injury to not have a career year. The workload will be there, even if he shares some snaps with Jaylen Warren, and the line should be a far better unit at opening holes for him. My expectations are high for Harris this year.
If regresses though, this offense could be in free fall. Again, the team has taken the offseason to build this offense around the run game. If Harris proves to be inefficient once again, the offense will be thrown off its game, and I doubt they have the firepower to make up for it.
Steelers Kenny Pickett still needs to show growth
As I just stated, this offense is going to be built around the run game with Harris and Warren at the helm. While that takes some pressure off of the quarterback, Kenny Pickett still needs to show a lot of growth entering year two. He doesn’t have to be perfect or elite, but he has to play better than he did as a rookie.
For starters, turnovers need to go down. While Pickett became a much more conservative passer in the second half of his rookie season, he was a turnover machine early on. Increased pass attempts will lead to some more interceptions naturally, but Pickett has to make better decisions like he did down the stretch.
He also needs to score more. While there were a lot of core issues with his rookie season, seven passing scores are bad. He has a lot of physical weapons that should thrive in the red zone, and he needs to be ready to utilize them.
He also needs to show that he is a better player entering year two. Even if the offense isn’t built around his arm, I expect to see some healthy growth out of a former first-round rookie quarterback. Will he have to win with his arm every week? No, but Pickett has to look like a better passer this year than last.
If Pickett doesn’t improve from his rookie season, this offense will struggle. If he somehow regresses, this team will likely be cooked. More importantly, if Pickett remains consistent or regresses in year two, you have to open the door for a potential replacement. Pickett doesn’t have to be elite, but the team can’t afford him to regress this season.
While the Steelers have built a competitive team on paper, they also are still banking on a few players improving their overall performance. In particular, these five players will be key contributors for the team, and they can’t afford to regress heading into the new season.