As the clock ticks down until roster cuts, fans from every team are making their best effort to predict which 53 players will wind up on their team's roster for the 2023 season. Prior to the Week 2 preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, I predicted the Pittsburgh Steelers 53-man roster for the 2023 season.
Since then, not much has changed. Some strong performances in the second preseason game have helped some players solidify their spots on the team. Other players on the outside looking in have fizzled out in recent weeks.
It's not hard to predict who will be on the roster with upwards of 90 percent accuracy. However, it's getting the last 3-4 players at the bottom of the roster correct that's the trickiest. Some of this will come down to where Pittsburgh would like to allocate its extra resources. Here's my latest Steelers 53-man roster prediction ahead of the preseason finale against the Atlanta Falcons.
Steelers 53-man roster prediction:
Quarterback (3):
- Kenny Pickett
- Mitch Trubisky
- Mason Rudolph
Running back (3):
- Najee Harris
- Jaylen Warren
- Anthony McFarland
Wide receiver (6):
- Diontae Johnson
- George Pickens
- Allen Robinson II
- Calvin Austin III
- Myles Boykin
- Gunnar Olszewski
Tight end (4):
- Pat Freiermuth
- Darnell Washington
- Connor Heyward (FB/HB)
- Zach Gentry
Offensive tackle (3):
- Broderick Jones
- Chukwuma Okorafor
- Dan Moore Jr.
Interior offensive line (6):
- Isaac Seumalo
- James Daniels
- Mason Cole (C)
- Nate Herbig
- Kevin Dotson
- Spencer Anderson
Interior defensive line (6):
- Cameron Heyward
- Larry Ogunjobi
- Keeanu Benton
- DeMarvin Leal
- Armon Watts
- Isaiahh Loudermilk
Edge defender (4):
- T.J. Watt
- Alex Highsmith
- Markus Golden
- Nick Herbig
Linebacker (5):
- Cole Holcomb
- Elandon Roberts
- Kwon Alexander
- Mark Robinson
- Tanner Muse
Cornerback (5):
- Patrick Peterson
- Joey Porter Jr.
- Levi Wallace
- James Pierre
- Elijah Riley
- Chandon Sullivan
Safety (5):
- Minkah Fitzpatrick
- Damontae Kazee
- Keanu Neal
- Miles Killebrew
Specialists (3):
- Chris Boswell (K)
- Presley Harvin III (P)
- Christian Kuntz (LS)
Though there were several changes from my first preseason roster prediction to my second, I chose to keep my Steelers roster prediction exactly the same in this third rendition just days ahead of roster cuts. Some of the performances during the Steelers vs Bills game led me to this point.
In my previous roster prediction, I added cornerback Chandon Sullivan to the 53-man roster. I had previously excluded him, but after a spectacular interception at the line of scrimmage against the Bills and earning snaps early in the game, there's plenty of evidence to suggest he will be on the team.
In the same way, I feel even more comfortable about Elijah Riley making the squad at this point. Not only has Riley been a standout special teams player in the preseason, but he has also turned heads with his play-making ability on defense -- including an interception this preseason.
For the second straight time, I elected to leave Kendrick Green off the Steelers 53-man roster. Green played a whopping 54 snaps against the Bills and stayed in the game until the fourth quarter. This suggests that the team isn't seeing enough from him, and his erred snap that was scooped up by Buffalo didn't help. In his stead, I have rookie Spencer Anderson making the roster thanks to his position flexibility.
The last off-ball linebacker spot is also one that has been in question all along. While I wasn't impressed with Tanner Muse's performance against the Buccaneers in the opener, I thought the athletic linebacker had an excellent game against Buffalo in Week 2 of the preseason. This is sure to help his cause as the final linebacker on the team.
How the Pittsburgh Steelers elect to allocate some of their resources could throw a monkey wrench in the final few players in my 53-man roster prediction. As of now, I feel pretty confident in this projection. We will only have to wait a few days to see how close we ultimately land to getting this correct.