Pro Football Focus gushes over Steelers offseason with nearly perfect grades

You'll be hard-pressed to find many NFL analysts who weren't fond of what the Pittsburgh Steelers were able to do during the 2023 offseason. In years past, many of their roster additions didn't really move the needle. Under Kevin Colbert, the Steelers would typically spread out their money to average free agents and fixate on a position of need in the NFL Draft. Not this year.

Omar Khan and Andy Weidl are in town, and fans are loving what they've done to the place so far. Despite not having much salary cap space to work with at the beginning of the free-agent period, Khan worked his magic by restructuring contracts and cutting overpriced players in an effort to land a better-than-expected free-agent haul that included players like OG Isaac Seumalo, CB Patrick Peterson, and LB Cole Holcomb while retaining DL Larry Ogunjobi.

From there, the Steelers really caught the attention of the national media with what they were able to do in the 2023 NFL Draft. Beginning with trading up a few spots for a high-upside offensive tackle in Broderick Jones, Pittsburgh was then able to find tremendous value all over the draft -- securing talents like CB Joey Porter Jr., DL Keeanu Benton, TE Darnell Washington, OLB Nick Herbig, and CB Cory Trice Jr.

It didn't take long for the media to notice just how many improvements Pittsburgh's front office had made to their roster. Recently, Sam Monson and Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus spent over two-and-a-half hours breaking down the offseason moves of every NFL team. When it came to the decisions the Pittsburgh Steelers made this offseason, they couldn't find enough kind things to say.

Monson and Spielberger think the Steelers crushed the offseason from top to bottom. They voiced that they were on board with essentially every more Pittsburgh made from free agency through the NFL Draft, and they noted how insane the value seemed to be every time they made their selection this past April.

Sam Monson's grades for Pittsburgh Steelers offseason:

• Free agency grade: B+
• NFL Draft grade: A+
• Overall grade: A

Monson gave the Steelers a 'B+' for a strong free agency period in which they were able to cover their bases and land some respectable starters. For the NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers earned the highest grade possible -- fetching a perfect 'A+' score from Pro Football Focus. Averaging the two, Monson gave the Steelers an 'A' overall for their remarkable 2023 offseason.

This shouldn't be very surprising, considering what they were able to accomplish this offseason. On paper, the Steelers look like one of the most improved teams in the league. They made upgrades at important positions like left tackle, cornerback, interior defensive line, tight end, and offensive guard, while completely overhauling the off-ball linebacker position.

For the first time in what seems like a decade, the Steelers weren't content with 'running it back' with essentially the same roster for another season. Instead of simply finding stop-gap players who fill a position of need, Khan and Weidl ripped the walls down the studs in an effort to rebuild the foundation correctly.

We are hoping that their efforts pan out. Obviously, there's no guarantee that this offseason will turn out to be as good as fans and analysts are projecting it to be. But right now, the future is looking bright for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and nearly everyone is taking notice of what they've accomplished in one offseason.