A Deep Dive Into The 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers | 2024 NFL Power Rankings (10....or are they?)

Introduction welcome back to the channel everybody and today it's my number 10 team maybe my eighth ranked team in my 2024 NFL Deep dive series yes it's the Pittsburgh Steelers make sure to like comment and subscribe to the channel do all that YouTube stuff and why did I say 10th or maybe eighth uh it's because as of this recording I don't know if Brandon auk is a 49er or a Steeler they've been sort of playing hokey pokei with the Brandon iuk trade now I have accounted in this video I will account for whether Brandon iuk does perhaps end up being a 49er before the season begins or even slightly before this video gets released I wanted to try to be as up to dat as possible at least with this grading uh to reflect both options the current option without him which makes them 10th and the option with him which actually would bump them up to eight so you are going to explore that with me here and now let's talk about the actual team that they have as of right now that I can confirm that they have 100% and that's without Brandon iuk one of the most intriguing rosters in the entire league they really on defense especially don't really have weaknesses and if they do have a weakness it's really a weakness that you look at as just initially going to be a problem and that by the end of the year could potentially be viewed as another strength somehow where it's all a giant strength uh the offense is a little bit more complicated they have two brand new quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields two quarterbacks with a lot of question marks surrounding them one a veteran one a young player two completely different abilities of what they can contribute to a team with a brand new offensive coordinator and Arthur Smith coming over from his stint as head coach at the Atlanta Falcons there's a lot of memes ing him and the type of players that he uses but I do like the fit especially of Justin Fields being in this offense uh but I do think Russell Wilson does the higher upside we'll get to that as well it's all under the umbrella of a Hall of Fame level coach Mike Tomlin one of the best coaches of all time he has just continuously been a fantastic head coach creating M more like maintaining the highlevel winning hardn Steeler culture quickly identifying issues within the roster players that don't fit even though they if they are great players uh and getting them out of there as soon as they can before he truly affects the team that's why this team hasn't had a losing record under Mike Tomlin it's an amazing feat to witness um it's been like 23 straight years now overall that they haven't had a losing season they've had a lot of success and with rosters that haven't even really been that impressive on either side of the ball at times uh and that has that says a lot about Mike toman's ability it says a lot about the overall uh front office as well as as the of the Pittsburgh Steelers that they've been able to commit to coaches and the way that they have and to give them time and I think that having just a little bit more patience will be the theme of this team this year you know when it comes to some of the position groups on the offensive side of the ball it's especially in some of the individual players in the offensive side of the ball patience may be the key word for Steelers fans out there and let's get to what I think of the overall coaching staff to start so this is my Coaching Staff third ranked coaching staff here they got first ballot Hall of Famer Mike Tomlin as their head coach they hit home runs man with these head coaches I can't stress it enough how important it is to have had the success at the head coaching position that they've had you know three head coaches since the 70s you know and people are talking about Tomlin not you know getting them to True success outside of the one Super Bowl but what are the odds that you're going to land another coach of his quality I don't think it's out there I think a lot of the some of the people calling for Tomlin to maybe you know for them to move on from him it's just not a thing that should be happening at all he's still I think by my estimation the third best coach in the entire league right now and what he does is he always gives your team a chance he's one of those few coaches that just can't have a losing season it just doesn't happen for him and it's never happened for him and now that he's got a very well-rounded roster in a lot of ways with really just trying to figure out who his quarterback is this is opening up for them to get back to that spot where the Steelers are a threat every single year where they're a top team every single year he's changed up his entire offensive philosophy bringing and Arthur Smith this is going back to like some old school style uh Steelers football where they're going to focus a lot on what's going on with the backfield you know Arthur Smith comes in he's my eighth ranked offensive coordinator it just didn't work out for him as a head coach uh he's one of those guys who I talk about guys like that all the time like a Josh McDaniels where it just doesn't work for them as head coaches but when they're coordinators and all they have to do is focus on the offensive scheme and they can run it by maybe a head coach can oversee everything he's got this is the best head coach Arthur Smith has ever worked with as an offensive coordinator by far so to have Tomlin who understands the culture who understands how to win who understands how to position things who understands how to get the best out of players to have him and Arthur Smith now working together yeah have Arthur him have him overseeing Arthur Smith and being that uh the thumbs up thumbs down guy you know the veto guy for the offense I think Arthur Smith's offense will take off especially because it really they got some really good Personnel that really suits that offense you know they got a nice deep Back Field which Arthur Smith likes they got a nice variety of different wide receiver types uh some guys on the smaller side too which you know create all that speed on the field he's got a good receiving tight end he's got a I would say a high upside wide receiver and like I said at the beginning they might actually have Brandon auk By the time this video drops so so great great hire uh to bring him in uh and use that offensive mind to elevate potentially Elevate Justin Fields who people were talking about having Justin fields in uh in Atlanta as the quarterback for Arthur Smith so you know even though the competition is between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields there might be a long-term solution here for Justin fields to finally get over the top uh with this style of offense it'll be interesting to see how Camp continues and how they get into the season uh Terrell Austin is their defensive coordinator he's been around uh you see him pop up with Tomlin uh for the last couple years on the Steeler staff he's my 12th ranked defensive coordinator uh you know it's a cluster but I think that Tomlin overall is going to elevate uh the defense more than anything uh you know he he he improved the Steelers from 29th to I believe it was like first when he first came in in 2022 like throughout that year from when he took over to how the season finished uh you know he's worked he's been with the Cleveland Browns you know for a while he's got this uh specialty in secondary which I think is going to be really good long term for Joey Porter Jr in particular who they're hoping just well I think based upon how the roster has been built that he going to come on and be that number one corner for them this year and play a little more consistent ball uh it's just o overall this is a really good foundational staff here it's the third best in the entire league you look at some of the positional coaches here you know they have Aaron Curry who's the inside linebackers coach uh you you recognize his name from out there Danny Smith is their special teams coord coordinator it's his 11th season uh with Tomlin as the uh special teams coordinator uh not a whole lot of Big Time names are popping out when you look at their staff You Know Carl Dunbar the defensive line coach I think would be one he's got all this world's experience I think he's been with the Pittsburgh Steelers for a long time too I think he might be might have been tenured there for a long time six year six years six years 17th uh in the entire league uh for his experience on the offensive side no no one is really popping out here uh so it'll be interesting to see how each position group develops you know there's some really young coaches in there like Tom arth the quarterback's coach is only in his second year they do have Alfredo Roberts 20 years experience as a tight end Coach Pat Meyer 11 years offensive line coach but then you know assistant offensive line coach Isaac Williams two years uh Mike suvin Senior offensive assistant it has 20 years of experience offensive assistant they are a bunch of offensive assistants in here uh cam Cambo three years Baker's first year um Zach aani seven seventh year in the league he's got he's got a lot of work ahead of him too in this you know they got rid of Deontay Johnson who just didn't fit everything here and now he's got George pickings he's got Roman Wilson he's got Calvin Austin and potentially Brandon auk so he's gonna have to really put all those guys together and get them prepared for this Arthur Smith offense uh that is that does have the potential here I I do think that this is the perfect situation for an Arthur Smith offense to be in it really worked well in Tennessee with a style from Mike Vel uh you know with that with Derrick Henry back there and it was the style of football that Vel wanted to play it's a style of football that Vel understood and Arthur Smith got AE coaching job off of it so I expect very very similar results here with Pittsburgh with Mike Tomlin because Mike tomman does have that old school hard-nosed approach about how to win football games uh it's just a great staff I really love it now let's get to the quarterbacks and Quarterbacks they are tied for 20th here Russell Wilson gets an 82 grade Justin Fields there as the backup gets a 73 grade uh you know Russell Wilson that first year in Denver with Nathaniel Hackett that was just a disaster way to happen he Denver didn't even want him you know they they felt they needed to make a big move at quarterback so they picked him when they couldn't get Aaron Rodgers uh it was very obvious they were trying to get Aaron roders there uh and they ended up giving up an absurd amount of capital to get Russell Wilson it never worked out with hackit Shawn pyton tried to make it work uh you you did see some success from Russell Wilson towards the end of the year after that beating they took from the Dolphins I feel like that was a time where that team really settled in and Russell Wilson did in particular where he actually didn't have that bad of a statistical output he wasn't this giant liability like he was that first year in Denver and frankly the last half of his uh season is that last year in Seattle he looked like he was getting back to being like maybe could get into that top 15 quarterback conversation so you know putting him here at 20th it's kind of like okay he's switching over there is a direct quarterback competition going on here there really isn't a whole lot pittsbur has invested in Russell Wilson because of the situation with Denver and them releasing ing him so it's a really there he's on a much shorter leash there's not a whole big there's not this big Financial commitment to him where Pittsburgh will feel bad about benching him especially when you got Justin Fields there who they who they acquired to you know compete to be a backup to maybe be somebody who can be the future of the team find packages for him out there because if they do switch to Justin Fields they do drop to about I think it's 29th or 30th in the league for quarterbacks but they would jump up to third best quarterback run threat which would dramatically enhance their run game uh which is why this Arthur Smith combination is really intriguing here uh because you know Russell Wilson's still a great athlete he can still move around the pocket he can still get outside the pocket and extend plays but he's nowhere near that level of Justin Fields what Russell Wilson has on fields is the throwing ability is the ability to read a defense now for a year and a half in Denver he looked like he couldn't read a defense save his life and it wasn't only until he settled in there that he did look like he was finally getting comfortable now it's another system a like a fourth system in four years for Russell Wilson that's a lot to go through especially because he in Seattle he did have so much stability there so there is a whole lot that he can apply from those years but it's the constant change that's happening can be rough on really anyone uh even a veteran quarterback especially one that's kind of you know looking to rebuild his confidence maybe you want to give him something that he's really really comfortable in so he doesn't get in these situations where even he might not know what's happening where he's trying to figure out what the offensive offense is trying to accomplish what a certain call is what a certain terminology is so how him and Arthur Smith mixed together here uh is going to be what makes or breaks this team really it this is the make or break position group for this team because as we get into the other ones you'll see they really are kind of Built For What Arthur Smith wants to do it really sets things up really nicely Justin Fields if he comes in you you do get a chance to develop him as a passer in an offensive system that does particularly suit him and to have him back there with the running backs and to create what frankly would become like a top 10 running attack in the entire NFL top five maybe even with him and niji Harris and Jaylen Warren even some of the other backups that they have even with guys like Calvin Austin you can use as a gadget player that would really create a very fast pace creative rushing offense but not a lot of upside in the passing which I think they still want to they still need to create that upside in the passing which is why there's all this talk about Brandon iuk right now and I think that when you have Russell Wilson I think there's that part of them that went we got no money invested in him he showed at the end of the year last year that he could be that Russell Wilson of old so let's just go with him and see how it goes and I I think that this is also a very patient and disciplined coaching staff as well and you saw how much Mike Tomlin was able to get out of really lesser talents than Russell Wilson frankly lesser talents than Justin fields and they're pulling out winning records so that's why I have them rank this high is because there's no there's just no way with someone with the experience of Russell Wilson and with the great you know offensive coaching staff they've put together and the solid you know roster of defensive players that are surely going to be just a top 10 defense probably yet again it's this is a 9 10 win team minimum as it has been since Mike Tomlin took over I'm I'm very excited about Russ what Russell Wilson could accomplish you want that offensive line to grow um and we'll get to those grades they they've invested a lot in the offensive line in particular the last couple of years so that's going to be something to watch for Wilson as well because if the offensive line breaks down that's when Russell Wilson I think does become less appealing to this uh to this team as a starting quarterback because you're going to want then to have the athleticism of Justin field fields to create a numbers Advantage out uh during you know during the rushing attack you know really execute a play action pass you know move the pocket around it's you're going to open up a lot more opportunities in that sense so I think the offensive line also in and and Russell Wilson's playing time as the season goes on I think they'll be in inevitably linked together more so than you'll see I think from most other teams when it comes to their current starting quarterback and frankly the better passer of the quarterback room so Backfield now we get to the running back room itself they are tied for 25th there's there's good depth here though they have a good little mixture here between these two backs of niji Harris and Jaylen Warren I think you're going to see a lot of Naji Harris on early downs but I think them not picking up the fifth year option which I believe is something that did happen I don't necessarily foresee niji Harris being overly featured at least he'll be feature on early downs but Jaylen Warren I think is the guy that just better suits what I would say better suits what Arthur Smith maybe will want to accomplish he saw a lot of that in what he did with bejon Robinson just last year and I could see you know Naji Harris sort of falling into that Tyler algier role where you know algier did have a great rookie year under Arthur Smith but he was very quick to go get the more well-rounded running back in bejon Robinson the more upside side running back for modern NFL play in beon so I think he'll be more enamored inevitably with Jaylen Warren uh especially with niji Harris probably not being on this team come next season he also brought in Cordo Patterson who under him in Atlanta had that gigantic breakout season hasn't really been able to match it but he's somebody who can come in he can do everything in this offense he's a reliable source for this offense he's a he's good for the running back room in general going to be good in a huddle uh especially probably uh really help out in this training camp getting these running backs up to speed getting the offensive line in up to speed you know those little like that coach on the field that coach in the Huddle type of a thing I think cordal parison can bring that his versatility as well Arthur Smith created a whole different position for him on a depth chart and I expect him to maybe get a little bit more action and I'd say especially probably early in the season as again they're all settling into liveaction real gameplay in this offense Dian Edwards was a rookie I I actually like him as being like a third early down guy I I actually really like that option uh Aaron champkin I don't know who they're going to keep as a fifth running back if they are going to keep a fifth running back I kind of doubt that they will uh because even when you get into the receiving threats here Jaylen Warren comes in as the ninth best receiving back in the league and this is why I really think that he's going to get all that playing time uh cuz he really is fitting in as that bejon Robinson role in this offense you know not taking any Away really from niji Harris who's serviceable in that role you know he's better than the some of the starters you'll see on other teams Cordell paris's got that veteran presence again he's sort of just running back three overall for me in this offense Dian Edwards isn't going to give you much in the receiving game but this is where Jaylen Warren I think is really going to he's I think he's almost set up to be really great this year even if they end up with Justin fields at the quarterback spot because this will open up like a short quick passing game you know that those read options that Justin Fields can dominate a game with if you know run consistently and he's got some weapons out there that can perform around him and this is what I think is going to inevitably get it as well because it is a passing League this is a league where especially based upon on again who they're trying to add to their roster they want to be a team that does throw the ball they don't want to be a team that just runs the ball they want to be very capable of doing it they want have the variety like they have in Harrison Warren but I could ju I could really see nii Harris just slowly as the season get goes along continuously getting less and less snaps in favor of Jaylen Warren to open up the offense a little bit in every given situation to make the defense think a little bit more not be so predictable in what they're doing based upon personnel and also with Jaylen Warren being able to maybe develop into being a better early down back than nji Harris is this year this is this is a tough spot for nii Harris in general just because he doesn't have the receiving back chops of Jaylen Warren he's not got a any long-term years on his contract or any real money invested in him going forward he could very well be a trade deadline cand for a team that you know may be looking for a running back late in the year I'm looking thinking about Dallas maybe for example could be one of those teams that feels like they just need to add a running back at a consistent runner in the back field and early down threat that could really help them out especially if Ezekiel Elliott you know starts to slow down at that point you know just due to age and wear and tear maybe that's something that they go about and do maybe there's a surprise team out there that will want to add Naji Harris you know throw a fourth fifth round pick at Pittsburgh get Nai Harris and then maybe extend him maybe they're willing to give a fifth round pick to get that extra jump on signing him with free agency coming up next year you can look at a team um you know the New York Giants my New York Giants could I would I wouldn't be surprised if I saw if they did that uh you know just try to think of teams off the top of my head here you know even maybe you know is Denver an option for that are are the Chargers an option for that you know how like if they pick up some injuries there with Dobbins and Gus Edwards what are they going to look like so it'll be interesting to see what the Journey of Naji Harris is but if they do keep this group together I think that they will outperform the tide for 25th overall grad just because as a Duo I think they'd be a really good combination working with Arthur Smith and then Jaylen Warren adds in this receiving ability I think it just it creates a much more well-rounded you know ingame situation rather than just this on paper uh overall Talent level so we're going to start with the weapons here and we're going to go on Weapons with first without Brandon iuk Brandon iuk is not officially on this team as of this recording so we're going to start with this and then we will finish with what they will look like if they do acquire branded and iuk currently they're the 28th wide receiver group with George Pickins as their one rookie Roman Wilson as the two Calvin Austin mixing in there as their number three and I do believe that this is the three that would get the most snaps that would get the most opportunities I think you know when as Roman Wilson you know heals up for the beginning of the year I I just think that this would be what the group would look like I think van Jefferson is somebody can get in as a a bigger body guy but I think that it will be built around George Pickins and it'll be interesting to see how George pickings now performs without Deontay Johnson there there was and I was and I said it in my Steelers offseason prediction video I was saying it in mock drafts leading up to the end of the season into the draft cycle that I didn't think George Pickins and Deontay Johnson would both be on this team come this season and I was correct I thought Deontay Johnson would be the one that would get traded just because of the financial situation that it would open up for them and I was right and I was told that I was being maybe you know ridiculous and I'll just take that as a W for me and it's because they just together they just weren't what you would expect from a Tomlin run team they were very selfish players it was like this it was like with Chase Claypool and they got rid of him because he had that attitude it's like they've had this run of receivers where they have this ego on them that is almost Unbecoming and that it almost holds back what their overall potential as players and contributors could be and we saw with Chase Claypool they got rid of him Deontay Johnson and George pickings were like Dumb and Dumber together so many times out there not willing to block not putting out any effort unless they knew for sure they were getting the ball making really bonehead immature decisions during games and during plays on the bench during practice during training training camp it wasn't it wasn't the disciplin Steelers football you would expect so they get rid of Deontay Johnson great move uh were able to improve their cornerback room in the process with Dante Jackson we'll get to that so I thought it was a I thought it was a really good decision a really smart move because now George Pickins is sort of there and they're they're going to boost him up and they're going to say you need to perform and especially with them going out G Brandon auk potentially that's also a message to George Pickins now I don't think George Pickins gets traded in the Brandon iuk trade I don't think that's something that they would do just because he does have to get paid and I think that he would in turn have the 49ers sort of sort of by the short hairs there a bit and I don't think the 49ers are necessarily looking to add an expensive wide receiver if they're not going to make retain an expensive wide receiver that they're trading away but George Pickins man statistically and he'll make amazing plays amazing catches have amazing games it's just the mental it's the maturity issue that I think holds him back from being an even bigger star and for this team have even more success so be he's going to be the one to watch this year just the maturity level and what it's like being really the big dog now in the room with Deontay Johnson gone they do have van Jefferson who's going to be another outside wide receiver Scotty Miller is going to be like brought in it seems to be like a backup slot receiver uh quz Watkins you know was never really broken out Dez Fitzpatrick Jacob Copeland Jer J like they have like these mix of guys I think they'll keep six guys I would say maybe seven if aayu comes in I think that quz Watkins and Dez Fitzpatrick even though I rank Copeland ahead of Dez I think those two will be the ones fighting for that roster spot in all this uh you look at the tight end room here with Pat fouth he's the 18th ranked tight end for me uh Michael puit comes over from Atlanta uh with Arthur Smith that's a very interesting because Michael puit you all look at his grading in um excuse me on PFF he was great he played really good ball when given the opportunity just the up the overall upside the longevity of The Upside I think he comes in he's a great number two uh to pass fouth potentially I like Darnell Washington you know has to drastically improve in in the receiving game he is almost like that sixth offensive lineman though I still think he he does have a role in this offense Conor Hayward is like this HB you know he'll be in fullback you'll see him in motion I I think you could see a lot of Hayward and Washington on the field at the same time they can go to some of those bigger sets out there and the other thing really when you look at puit you look at Hayward you look at Washington there's like this meme going around about Arthur Smith where he's like I know I got this this this you know this real starting tight end this great overall tight end but man have you seen tight end four he we got to get him on the field we got to get him some touches and so that's really opening up a lot of opportunities for a lot of these guys it's really hard to call which one of these tight ends is really going to be the true star of this of this room it could be Darnell Washington the size and you know him being able to work in the Run game and then work off the play action and work in the red zone that might be something that Arthur Smith finds extremely appealing and might use him to death more than he uses a guy like Pratt Fri Mo in the red zone that was a big criticism that Falcons fans had of him not using Kyle pittz like that Kyle Pitt still had some good years but it was never what you would expect from a guy with his skill set and because Arthur Smith was out there with jonu Smith with Michael puit with like the with cadal Hodge there it was just a weird situation based upon the talent level so Arthur Smith isn't necessarily married to constantly getting the ball to the quote unquote best player on the team he's going to design a a scheme based upon specific traits that players have and execute an offense that way and he's had a lot of success doing things that way it'll just be this is just going to be really interesting and I almost want to hold back a bit if I'm you know f a fantasy player on getting Pat Frou that's another reason why I kind of rank him a little bit lower is because there's not a lot of faith here that the guy that should be the true number one tight end is going to get used in that way by Arthur Smith uh still a really good player uh but they they really even with these guys they're still just missing that like one thing that that that that they're Miss they're just missing it you know and the way you get it is with Brandon iuk so this is what they would look like with Brandon Weapons w/ Aiyuk iuk on the team they jump from the 28th ranked wide receiver room to the fifth ranked wide receiver room in the NFL that is a tremendous jump you're getting one of the best wide receivers in the league here and Brandon auk he by my estimation is a top 10 wide receiver going into this season easily you bring him in now George Pickins becomes a high-end number two wide receiver you get a high-end number one receiver now Roman Wilson becomes like your wide receiver three he becomes like this pretty high-end wide receiver 3 as well now again I don't expect George Pickins to be the one that would get traded here now I'm going to say all this and watch him be the one that gets traded for Brandon iuk by the time I release this video silly me but if he does get if he does get part of the trade with uh Brandon auk then there's still I think the 12th or 13th wide receiver room at that point so it's still a significant jump up uh for this off for this wide receiver room by just adding this top level player uh it does drop the 49ers down allowing them to move up a lot too but I think you add Brandon auk he's a great allaround receiver so he would really compliment everyone really well here and I think it would open up more opportunities for George Pickins that with Deontay Johnson I don't necessarily believe Deontay Johnson was drawing all that much attention away from George Pickins I would even argue that George Pickins was still viewed as wide receiver one by opposing defenses and defensive coordinators in the week leading up to the game there would be no question here that Brandon ia's wide receiver won so all all the coverages would get rolled to his side and George Pickins would be in tremendous situations going one-on-one with a lot of guys so that is the significant change in what we'd see from this wide receiver room by just that one little move going over to the offensive line and the pass blocking is going to be 27th in the league they are O-Line going to be starting two rookies especially with herbig being put onto the injured reserve just uh I believe today as of this filming earlier this afternoon Zack Frasier is for sure now going to be the star now I projected Zack Fraser being the starter by week one anyway I think that if he wasn't in week one I think by really early in the year he would be I think he's a really good player uh so him being your starting center uh I think we got two really good vet two veterans next to him camalu and James Daniels James Daniels hasn't really lived up to that contract has lived up to the hype since leaving Chicago be interesting to see how he can boost his way forward uh then they have brri Jones and Troy fanu who one of them would be left tackle one of them will be right tackle um how they go about determining that you know I've seen some times the dep chart had Fano at left tackle I think the most updated one had him at right tackle so you know whichever side you want to put him on put him on that side uh they'll figure out who what's the best overall selection uh I'm sure by week one and we may see them switch uh at some point in the season as well fanu comes into this team he I saw him as like you got a lot of like the Zach Martin comparisons where it's like he's a tackle but maybe he's just a guard and him coming to Pittsburgh I think that established him as the tackle solidified that Tackle Spot had he gone to another team maybe like a Cincinnati I I think that might have opened up for him to have gone to guard I think you might have ended up with a really early All Pro Guard uh so I still think you get a high-end tackle uh he still needs to develop a little bit in certain aspects of his game obviously he is a rookie Brodrick Jones uh hard to judge a rookie offensive lineman after putting over two rookies just now uh so it'll be inter to see he did need he did need some work coming into the league uh he was that upside uh tackle but not an immediate INB back so he needs to step up his game but he also needs to settle into a to his position uh he goes up against some really really tough uh pass rushes uh just within the division alone so I think the learning curve is a little bit more but I think when it comes along it's going to come pretty drastically and pretty quick uh just based on the competition he's facing uh in terms of the depth not a whole lot to be excited about especially with herbig out you know herbig as a pass blocker wasn't anything it's just run blocking that you really would have coveted uh Mason McCormick is a really good rookie I like him as like a fourth interior offensive lineman you know competing you know I think he can end up eventually by the end of the year maybe stealing some reps from one of the guards if one of those guards end up struggling uh I think he's a good good rookie that they just brought in I guess Spencer Anderson is maybe your you know I back up Center I guess I don't know Dan Moore is your swing tackle not not very good he was had to be replaced he had a after that rookie year Dan Moore was nothing he surprised a lot of people with a good rookie year and he's gone um I think they're really regretting uh getting rid of Kevin doson who had that breakout year last year after they traded him to the Rams he would have been really valuable on this offensive line really improved it drastically uh you get to the Run blocking and their 27 again uh calu really really high quality uh interior run blocker uh Ric Jones a little bit better there Daniels is sort of is what he is Zack Frasier a little bit lower on the list fanu not good um not this is not part of what his game is he does have all these great athletic traits though where with some really good coaching I think throughout the year he can drastically outplay this grade but I do think that's where we're going to see some growing pains from him early on in the season uh going back to the center Zack Frasier he sort of gets thrown in here maybe he wasn't all that ready because I really like Nate herbig as a as a run blocker [Music] so now Dan Moore as a run blocker is better than Troy fanu is there a world where Dan Moore becomes the starting tackle again and fanu kicks into guard I don't know that that possibility is all that high I would say that possibility gets a lot more realistic in the event that Justin Fields becomes a starting quarterback and the shift of focus in the offense becomes a lot more based upon the running game than the passing game um I think that is really the only instance in which I could see that shift happening but I also think that they're focus is going to be more the long-term development of Troy fanu and keeping him at that Tackle Spot um so I think they'll just sort of take their lumps with him there uh even if that switch does happen if that switch does happen I would also maybe look for Mason McCormick to have a real opportunity to slip in there as well I would watch that's something I would watch for uh maybe if you get some struggles from Zack Frasier uh you know maybe James Daniels kicks into Center he did play center for a while there in in Chicago uh and then maybe McCormick ends up playing one of the Guard spots and instead and you get maybe some higher uh upside at your guard position while taking a bit of a hit at the center position I think you're might be more willing to take the hit at the center position uh then at the guard position I don't know I don't know maybe some teams some teams would other teams wouldn't um you know I think settling I think you make up for maybe some upside deficiencies by with the experience level of James Daniels maybe that helps in that scenario but that's all sort of up in the air I think that's going to be inseason moves that they make but overall this is still a bottom five offensive line that I mean they've thrown so many assets at it though fanu camalu Frasier rodri Jones James Daniels Mason McCormick these are all guys who I believe I don't think they've been on the team longer than three years I think James Daniels is going into his third year now at the team camalu is in his second year BR Jones is in his second year and then fanu Frasier and McCormack are all rookies so they're not afraid to throw assets at this offensive line so at some point some of these guys are going to start to hit and this will end up being like that upper half of the league offensive line I think at worst it's just a matter of them getting there and finding the right combination of players so overall this offense is tied Offensive Totals for 27th they have the 31st run offense here tied for 23rd in pass offense again the offensive line as they develop I think that's really going to be thing that raises everything up now add Brandon auk this becomes the 17th ranked pass offense and the 25th overall offense it does change things a little bit uh big boost to the pass offense um and then a slight boost the overall offensive projection but it does bump them into an IT bumps them a tier up it bumps him into that another a cluster of teams whose overall offense is on like a Next Level type of a thing uh so it really creates a much larger range for success for them as an overall offense moving on to the defensive side D-Line of the ball and this is where the stars of this team really are we'll start with the edge room they're tied for second here TJ watt what can you say he's a top two top three at worst Edge player in the NFL when he's healthy really great overall play he plays great in the pass game really good in the Run game Alex heith I'll I'll take the L on Alex heith um he's really done a great job to become a high-end number two on a lot of teams he's a number one even when TJ watt is out this guy has performed consistently great um I was wrong about him uh Nick herig is going to be a great number three on this team uh he's a really good rotational option for them uh but these two are the are just the Stars they do everything great they're a great compliment to one another and they have such an ability you know you'll see TJ watt sort of retreat and drop into coverage and Alex heith now becomes your number one pass rusher on that play and he's going to beat he'll beat the left tackle and he'll beat a he'll beat a double team he'll overcome a chip from a running back or a tight end really great and then TJ watt will be there you're expecting him to rush he'll take that step back they'll throw it he'll bat the ball in the air and he'll intercept it we've seen that a number of times TJ watt pull that play off off uh so his his versatility even though 90% of the time you're going to use him obviously as somebody just go get the damn quarterback having that versatility somehow puts an offense and puts a quarterback in a position where he still does have to kind of consider the fact that TJ watt might take two steps forward and then bail back and he's got all athleticism to cut off a little stick route from a tight end and then and he's taking that ball the other way so you somehow have this dual threat even though like I said he's mostly just going after the quarterback um they do have some depth guys in there Johnson Moon windman wel Shoff I mean you hope that you never have to see him you know I think most of the time you're going to see Watt and heith and then you'll see Nick herbick mixed in there uh especially here in these true passing situations even when you get to the edge against the Run they're tied for third uh TJ watt one of the best Edge players against the Run Alex heith a highend number two you know he's he's a number again like I said he's a number one Edge rusher on a lot of other teams in the league um you know short of it being playing with Miles Garrett or Micah Parsons or Nick Bosa you're hard pressed to find somebody who can play at the LEL that Alex heith has shown that he can play at and again you get Nick herbig who I think this will be a situation where you'll see herbig I think early Downs is where you're going to see herbig the most um and that's when you'll see like the rotation of Watt and heith uh depending on what the situation is in the game uh Jeremiah Moon I think he does make the team as the third as the fourth Edge player just because of his ability here uh on early Downs uh again you want to get when you have these high-end Edge rushers you almost want to get backups that you can trust to come in and play on early Downs as that rotational player uh to play against true running situations just to give these guys a break because you do need to give them a break at some point in time you can't run them like okariki and mcken did last year and play him 100% of the snaps just not how position Works uh so I think that is going to be the sign factor for Jeremiah Moon making the team uh you get to the interior guys the interior Rush they're tied for 15th Kean Benson going into second year great breakout player last year um I think if Kobe Turner wasn't as great as he was I think people would been talking a whole lot more about Keanu Benton um he was great last year a great compliment to the veteran cam Hayward who just can't seem to retire but he's not somebody who necessarily has a skill set of somebody that should retire uh I really like him you know Benton stepping up the way he did I think allows Hayward to sort of settle back in to that to a role that I think better suits his age and his stamina and the wear and tear that he's had in his career where he's been a great he's a Steelers Legend uh but this opens up opportunities I think montravius Adams is a good third option here on these uh passing situations you know they got these like three four defensive end types in here like Lowry and demarvin Leal uh I just you know I don't I don't know I don't know I never really lik Dean Lowry at all uh de Marvin leall just came into that last year in college look with a top 10 projection and just never lived up to it uh Ogen Joby is just this you know this nose tackle that you're going to throw in there I think he's more of a backup to K Benton who got some nose tackle play last year uh when you move to them against the Run they do bump up to 12 uh cam Hayward I think has become a lot better against the Run um you know just the demand of the athleticism of playing an interior pass rusher I think hurts him as he gets older Benton does take a little bit of a step back in that play but I think it all ends up evening out I really like the rookie Logan Lee to be an early down defensive lineman especially when they're playing three and interior defensive lineman that 34 base formation I like Logan Lee cam Hayward and Keanu Benton to be that to be that group out there and then Ogen Joby and Adams are sort of your backups then uh to complete that rotation uh Dean Lowry louder milk Slade I'm not the biggest fans of any of them um I don't know I wouldn't personally keep them on the team you know I think keeping five interior defensive linemen uh is probably in their best interest and then you know you can always pick one up off the street need be uh if you pick up an injury or something but overall this front four it's up there with some of the best in the entire league it really drives this defense it makes everyone around them better it help it's going to drastically help out a cornerback room that when we get to that you'll see that there's a lot of questions behind it needs it's one of those rooms that needs just more time sort of like you know the offensive line does so but this really makes up for those deficiencies in a huge Way by having such high quality here moving on Linebackers to the linebackers in pass coverage they are tied for eighth you have Patrick queen and the rookie pton Wilson I really like these two being the linebackers on these early on these passing situations Patrick Queen had that breakout year playing next to roquan Smith made it impossible for Baltimore to keep him he goes to the hated Rivals Pittsburgh Steelers a real Petty move if you ask me ballsy move uh to be honest uh how he settles in as being a true number one linebacker is still yet to be determined because when he was a true number one linebacker the Ravens felt so strongly that they needed somebody else that they went and they got roquan Smith for a second round pick and then paid him record-breaking money so is it's difficult to be that high on Patrick Queen especially on early Downs which I still think he needs a lot of work on but I do think he is more likely than not the Green Dot linebacker as pton Wilson sort of develops even though I think pton Wilson in coverage is your second best option you got a Landon Roberts who's right there creeping up with him and then when you get into the linebackers against the Run they're tied for 14th I do like pton Wilson just slightly better than Al Landon Roberts in both aspects of the game uh but I do think his inexperience uh will cause him to sort of slip down the depth chart maybe especially early in the year and queen and Roberts will be the guys uh but I do think that he will get playing time he will get the third most especially with Cole hulham now out uh he's on the pup list uh you get pton Wilson I think he'll sort of settle in as your rotational linebacker uh and end up with with a lot of snaps cuz he'll be able to be going in in a lot of different situations on early Downs he'll go in for Patrick Queen and in passing situations if they want to play two linebackers out there he'll go in for Landon Roberts in that situation so it could really work out where he ends up getting probably the second most snaps of all the linebackers on the team by the end of the year if he gets used in that way you know Mark Robinson can always be an option to come in on early Downs uh as well U I think that they drafted pay Wilson for a reason he's coming in he's going to be uh like a long-term answer along with Patrick Queen so I think they're going to want to integrate him in and he'll get more and more playing time as the season goes on I think he's a really good player uh Landon Roberts is your veteran in the room also uh almost Sly as more like traditional linebacker which I think they really like so that'll be uh something to watch as well moving on to Defensive Backs the defensive backs and we'll start with the corners this is the 30th ranked cornerback room uh Joey Porter Jr had an up and down rookie year showed a lot of Promise had some really great moments had the expected issues um during his rookie campaign that you would expect um but you you hope that those have now been cleaned up and especially with Tyrell Austin as defensive coordinator the defensive back specialist that he's going to have a jump in quality here you're hoping for like that Derek Stingley jump from Year One to year two uh especially with all the help he's going to be getting from the front four front seven in front of him in pass coverage he's going to have a lot of opportunities to play really instinctual especially again with the guys on the back end uh that we'll get to very shortly Dante Jackson is the one that came over for the Deontay Johnson in that trade he's going to settle in as like the number two corner here lots of speed uh so he I think is going to have an opportunity to sort of get back to that where people were talking about him like he was you know a top 15 cornerback in the NFL for a while there sort of just disappeared in Carolina because of injuries and them adding a bunch of guys and he was almost like a constant there but it never really got back to where that projection was for that one year you know he sort of just kept sliding out of per out of view for everyone so how he can come back onto the scene here is really take advantage of the same things that you hope Joey Porter takes advantage of which is a great front four that's going to open up a lot of opportunities for him to play instinctual and when he's got that speed out there if he's able to play really instinctual ball his athleticism is really going to be a tremendous asset for this defense and forcing turnovers especially the problem that they really have is who's the third corner here you got Thomas Graham you got beanie Bishop the rookie you got Keandre Thomas you you got Darius like some one of these guys like there's really no settled quarterback three here which is a concern because a lot of teams are playing with three corners on the field at once three corners two safeties two linebackers and then a front four that's almost the standard NFL defense now most of the time that that nickel sub package they are going to be throwing 1 2 3 4 5 6 they're throwing like seven guys at this issue this third quarterback issue and just need one of them to hit so one of them better and you almost assume that one of them would I think it's between the rookie beanie bishop and the veteran Thomas Graham more so than anybody else I think Darius Rush could maybe slip in there as an option Cory tce maybe could as well but I do think it's between really those two guys as you now get to the the safety room here this is where chef's kiss you start with them in coverage you get Minka Fitzpatrick one of the best overall safeties in the entire league he's up there with Jesse Bates as like a top five safety in the NFL Jesse bat's my number one of course doesn't really have much of a compliment here in pass coverage they're still the 14th best safety group in the league and he's doing a lot of the heavy lifting here DeShaun Elliot the veteran you know had a send in Baltimore Detroit Miami they have Damonte Kazi here and they have miles kerw there's going to be some competition here for who ends up being the safety next to Minka Fitzpatrick in these passing situations now Fitzpatrick's somebody that you can play anywhere in this defense he's the defensive back version of TJ watt where you have to identify where he is and have a shift have a call ready to adjust to where he is you get them with the Run support they move up to the second best safety group in run support this is where deshun Elliott really shines and I think this is where he gets really all of his playing time if he's healthy this is a tremendous onew punch second best in the whole league since Patrick such a great overall player DeShaun Elliott really shines in this role as like coming down being that eighth man in the Box uh I think that there's possibilities on early Downs you could see him almost in the slot if they want to go just single high and stack the box that way be like that eighth man in eighth man in the Box type role for deshun Elliott I really like that role for him I think he can play it really well bringing that tenacity from that upbringing in with John harbas Baltimore Ravens that that mentality hope Patrick Queen brings it over as well uh but just a great group and this is again going to really help bail out the one issue this team really has on defense which is the cornerback room it's the only group that isn't like top 15 in the league it's this cornerback room you'd prefer it maybe the interior defensive line or the linebackers be that position group but the potential of Joey Porters through the roof the athleticism of Dante Jackson and the upside that's going to bring with all those great Parts surrounding him it's it's just there's a lot of optimism and I think the optimism is Justified from this defensive side of the ball even with this extremely poor ranking for the corners so overall this is my fourth Defensive Totals ranked defense in the league 10th in pass defense and fourth against the run again they lose out on being like that top five pass defense just because of the initial projection for the cornerback group I think easily by the end of this season this could be very well the number one defense in the entire league if that cornerback room ends up developing and growing the way that you would hope they would especially with again all this great talent surrounding them so this is Overall Grade overall my 10th ranked team in the league third coaching staff tied for 27th offense fourth ranked defense um sort of the opposite problem that you saw with the LA Rams now I did create a situation where if they get Brandon auk they become the eighth ranked team in the NFL for me uh 25th in total offense again that bumps them up two whole up overall spots for me to eight uh it would drop down uh my ninth rank team to 10th obviously and my eighth rank team to ninth uh which you guys will see in the next day or so when I reveal them and there you have it my Outro number 10 or number eight team in my 2024 NFL deep dive series the Pittsburgh Steelers what do you guys think of the grades that I gave out what do you think of the impact I have projected of them acquiring Brandon iuk have they already acquired Brandon iuk leave me in the comments section below if they haven't do you think that he would have an even bigger impact uh based upon my grading system I don't know how you could have a bigger impact but you know you guys let me know in the comment section below there's the rest of the series on either side of my head football season is almost here the preseason is almost over it's almost Labor Day which means it's almost football and I will see you guys with the next video next time bye