The Pittsburgh Steelers have played some ugly football so far this season; I think we can all agree upon that. Through the first four games, Mike Tomlin's team has been blown out twice, and their average scoring margin entering Week 5 is -9.5 points per game -- good for 26th in the NFL, according to Team Rankings.
Right now, Pittsburgh ranks near the bottom of the league in every statistical category on offense. Perhaps the biggest surprise, however, is that the defense hasn't been much better this year. The Steelers have already surrendered two 30-point games to the opposition in the first month of the season.
Despite their array of struggles in the early going and statistics that show they have been one of the bottom teams in the league so far in 2023, if the NFL season were to end today, Pittsburgh would have a surprisingly late draft pick in 2024.
2024 NFL Draft order entering Week 5
- Chicago Bears (0-4)
- Chicago Bears (0-4) (Via Carolina Panthers)
- Las Vegas Raiders (1-3)
- Denver Broncos (1-3)
- Minnesota Vikings (1-3)
- New York Jets (1-3)
- New England Patriots (1-3)
- Cincinnati Bengals (1-3)
- Arizona Cardinals (1-3)
- New York Giants (2-2)
- Green Bay Packers (2-2)
- New Orleans Saints (2-2)
- Arizona Cardinals (1-3) (Via Houston Texans)
- Houston Texans (2-2) (Via Cleveland Browns)
- Los Angeles Chargers (2-2)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2)
- Washington Commanders (2-2)
- Los Angeles Rams (2-2)
- Atlanta Falcons (2-2)
- Indianapolis Colts (2-2)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2)
- Tennessee Titans (2-2)
- Seattle Seahawks (3-1)
- Dallas Cowboys (3-1)
- Detroit Lions (3-1)
- Miami Dolphins (3-1)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1)
- Buffalo Bills (3-1)
- Baltimore Ravens (3-1)
- San Francisco 49ers (4-0)
- Kansas City Chiefs (3-1)
- Philadelphia Eagles (4-0)
If the 2023 NFL season concluded prior to Week 5, the Pittsburgh Steelers would hold just the 21st overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, according to Tankathon. This means that they would even make the playoffs as a Wild Card team -- falling a game behind the Baltimore Ravens who would own the AFC North crown.
Steelers are fortunate to be 2-2 at this point
It's very early on, so we can't read too much into this, but it is a little bizarre based on everything we have seen from Pittsburgh so far. Even with their sluggish start, they are still 2-2 on the season and 1-0 in their division.
The Steelers have a pivotal matchup this Sunday against the Ravens. If they win, they will advance to 3-2 and hold the tiebreaker over Baltimore as the top seed in the AFC North. If they lose, however, they will drop to 2-3 and send the Ravens to 4-1 -- falling way behind in the divisional race.
If Pittsburgh lays another egg in Week 5, we can expect them to jump way up in the projected draft order. Right now, there are 9 teams tied with a 2-2 record, and we can assume that many of them will come away victorious this week.
It has been anything but pretty for Mike Tomlin's team so far, but they can be thankful that their season is still very much alive after the disastrous performances we have witnessed early on. Now it's time to put the past behind them and make sure that they don't climb to the top of the 2024 NFL Draft order in the coming weeks.