The Steelers certainly haven’t had a season worth remembering this year. Despite a decent start, issues were apparent early on with this team. Over time, cracks turned into fissures, and this team is now in a free fall. While there have been some highlights on the team, there are quite a few players who have fallen flat on their faces.
The holidays are an unforgiving time, and for those players that aren’t living up to the mark are set to find themselves on Santa’s naughty list. We all know what people get on the naughty list though. Here are the five Steelers who deserve a lump of coal this season.
Steelers haven’t gotten enough out of Mykal Walker
Pittsburgh was dealt a tough hand at the linebacker position this season. Despite some significant turnover and investment in the position in the offseason, the team lost two of their top three starters in consecutive weeks. Worse yet, the only remaining starter was Elandon Roberts, a fine player but one that is more limited in coverage.
The team has opted to turn to veteran Mykal Walker in the wake of all of these injuries due to his experience. He had been a capable starter for a short spell, so the hope was that he could return to that form. That hasn’t been the case so far though, as he has quickly become a liability for this defense.
To be fair, Walker is in a less-than-ideal situation. It is hard to come in and start at a high level considering how late he was to join this team. That said, he has turned into a weak point for this team and is constantly picked on in the passing game. Because of those struggles, he easily lands on this list.
Steelers needed more from Patrick Peterson
The Steelers entered the offseason with some question marks at cornerback. Those questions intensified after Cam Sutton signed a big-money deal with the Lions in the offseason. While a top draft pick was used on Joey Porter, the team also inked veteran Patrick Peterson to a deal to be a more direct replacement for Sutton.
People seemed really happy with this move on paper. Peterson was still playing at a relatively high level (and he is a well-known name given his history in the league). With a high investment in Joey Porter in the draft, having a veteran around to help bring him along also seemed like a wise idea.
I was skeptical of the signing from the onset though. Cornerback tends to have a pretty steep regression as players get older due to failing athleticism. Peterson was also coming over from a Vikings team that ran mostly zone defense, which likely helped disguise his declining athleticism.
My biggest concern was his perceived role. The Steelers seemed content to have him as a one-for-one replacement for Sutton. This means both outside work as well as snaps in the slot. Despite his tenure in the league, that was something Peterson hadn’t ever done.
He also came to the team talking. A lot. While being confident in your team and your own ability is great, providing the opposition with some bulletin board material isn’t. This is especially true if you can’t back it up, which has been the case for the Steelers this season, unfortunately.
Peterson hasn’t been the worst cornerback on the team, but his play has been worse than you expected. Add in the talk and his first season here has been a letdown. Frankly, I can’t envision a way that he ends up playing through his second year with the team unless they really want his veteran presence.
The Steelers have seen Mason Cole regress
I wasn’t a huge fan of the Mason Cole signing a few years back. Despite coming off a decent season before he was signed, Cole had been a journeyman for his career to that point. For a team that was, on paper, committed to an offensive line rebuild, Cole seemed more like a filler player than a true improvement.
He proved me wrong in his first season, as he quickly established himself as the most consistent player along the line. While his play was never as flashy as fellow signee James Daniels, he was consistently churning out strong games despite numerous injuries.
The expectation was for him to continue where he left off this year, but that hasn’t been the case. Despite the interior continuing to get better this year, Cole has regressed. His blocking in both run and pass sets has been atrocious and he has even had issues snapping the ball. This has left a huge liability in the center of this unit.
Frankly, I can’t quite figure out what the issue was. No, I didn’t expect Cole to suddenly become an elite center, but to at least maintain his decent level of play from a season before was reasonable. Instead, he has fallen flat on his face and has been close to unplayable at times. He deserves a lump of coal for this regression, and I would be shocked to see him stick around on the roster moving forward.
Kenny Pickett hasn’t been it for the Steelers
The entire quarterback room could be listed here with little to no issue. The entire unit, sans Mason Rudolph who has yet to see considerable action (and let's not kid ourselves with what he is as a player), has been bad.
Mitch Trubisky is deserving of some backlash here, as he is one of the better-paid backups in the league yet couldn’t do anything when pushed into the starting role. That said, Kenny Pickett is far more of an issue right now given his long-term ramifications with this team.
Pickett has a strong fanbase given the fact that he played college ball locally at Pittsburgh. That said, his rookie season was a mess, and he needed to make a jump to justify his selection in the first round. It looked like he was poised for the jump during the preseason.
Then the actual season got underway, and Pickett looked like a mess. He was struggling to progress through reads, had no pocket presence, and struggled with accuracy. These were all issues in his rookie season, and they were only getting worse.
Fans were quick to find blame in Matt Canada, the line, or anyone other than Pickett. Even after his lackluster play continued in the wake of the Matt Canada firing and improved line play, fans are still claiming that Pickett is the savior. Heck, some fans seem to think we owe him an apology considering that Trubisky has looked equally bad as a starter.
My issue is that should Pickett be solely compared to Trubisky? I ideally would want him to excel past that level. If all you want to do is compare Pickett to backups though, this is the year to do it considering the litany of injuries to the position league-wide.
A familiar name in Joe Flacco has resurfaced for the Browns while relative unknowns in Tommy DeVito and Jake Browning have shown flashes of talent. All three have outperformed Pickett this year despite not being the starter in week one. Heck, Flacco and Browning have outperformed Pickett in just a couple of games.
With such a high investment in him mixed in with the stubbornness of this franchise, there is a real chance that the Steelers are stuck with Pickett for at least another season. Because of this and the track record of mediocre quarterbacks not moving the needle for teams, he is deserving of some coal this holiday season.
The Steelers are still waiting on Larry Ogunjobi
Following the retirement of Stephon Tuitt, the Steelers were quick to sign veteran Larry Ogunjobi to an unconventional one-year deal. Injuries slowed him down in his first year here, and while he did put together a few solid games, his stint wasn’t spectacular. Because of this, it was a little shocking to see the team ink him to a three-year deal in the offseason.
It seemed pretty clear what the hope was. Ogunjobi came to the Steelers late and had to get up to speed. A full season to rehab and get acclimated to his role could allow him to return to his pre-injury form, a talented pass rusher that would aid this defense.
That potential came at a cost though. The defensive line is a premier position in the league, so the Steelers weren’t going to get Ogunjobi for cheap. Despite a ho-hum first year, Ogunjobi got a slight pay raise as well as the multiple years worked into his contract. The expectation was for him to return to his impact player status.
That once again didn’t happen, as Ogunjobi has continued to be a lackluster option for this defense. To be clear, he hasn’t been a liability in anyway, as he has locked down his starter role for the majority of the season. He lacks the pass rush that he showed earlier in his career though, and his run defense has been average at best.
Given his salary, the Steelers seemingly wanted more out of the veteran. Again, he isn’t a disaster on the line, but he has failed once again to make a considerable impact on this defense. Because of this and the hefty deal he landed a year ago, he should be seeing some coal this year.
What can the Steelers do with George Pickens
This one is getting ugly quickly.
There is no denying that George Pickens has the talent capable of making him an elite threat for any offense. He can win vertically and has shown a lot of improvements in his route running and plays after the catch this season. That said, it is becoming inherently clear that he is still extremely immature as a player and is seemingly regressing in that department this season.
The receiver position is a hard room to gauge. Almost every top name seemingly has some attitude issues at times, and being humble doesn’t appear to be anyone’s top concern. Being able to manage big attitudes is key to any coaching staff. The issue with Pickens is that while he has flashed some insane talent, he is now letting his attitude take the front stage despite having not proven enough as a pro yet.
From pouting on the field, questionable off-the-field quotes, and now even taking some plays off, Pickens is getting attention for all of the wrong reasons. I don’t fault a player for wanting to be more involved, especially when an offense is struggling, but to take plays off on the field and throw tantrums can’t continue.
Pittsburgh is at a weird crossroads with Pickens right now. You would hate to lose out on a supreme talent, but he isn’t doing himself any favors in the eyes of the media nor his own teammates. His poor attitude makes him the most deserving of some coal this season.
The Steelers had had a rough stretch of things this season, and I’m not sure how much better it gets. Unfortunately, there are some players to blame. In particular, these six Steelers should be getting some coal for their play and antics this holiday season.