3 Biggest takeaways from the Steelers offseason program
The Pittsburgh Steelers wrapped up their offseason program on Thursday after their third and final day of minicamp, which was preceded by nine OTA sessions.
There are a lot of new faces on the roster and coaching staff this season, which means a lot of attention was paid to these new players and coaches over the last month. With that said, the feeling around this Steelers team is one of revival and excitement - and these are my biggest takeaways from OTAs and minicamp
The young defenders are ready for the moment
Several of the Steelers’ young defenders had my attention throughout the offseason program. Payton Wilson is already one of my favorite guys on the team and he’s yet to take an actual snap. But seeing him on the field already being trusted as the dime-backer, as well as how quick he is in pursuit and how smart he is in coverage, the guy has all the makings of a star. Plus, he has been tremendous with the media. He spoke with Aaron Becker of Yardbarker about being excited for training camp and being very confident that he is going to help the Steelers win a Super Bowl.
It’s not just Wilson, either. Darius Rush has looked good throughout this process, as as Cory Trice. Speaking with Rush about the young group in the secondary, he told me that while this unit features a lot of young talent, you need a lot of young fast guys to keep up with receivers in today’s NFL. With veteran leaders like Donte Jackson being an earpiece for these younger guys, as well as bringing back Cam Sutton, Pittsburgh will have a tremendous balance of veteran stars and young rising stars at every level on the defense this season.
Arthur Smith will be successful in Pittsburgh
Arthur Smith has had zero ego after going from head coach back to offensive coordinator, and the players seem to be buying into what he’s doing offensively. Pat Freiermuth has expressed excitement about the versatility of skill players in the offense, and Smith himself said after the draft that the biggest goal was to avoid going stale offensively.
From what the quarterbacks have both looked like (more on that later), combined with a new offensive line and scheme, Pittsburgh will be much better offensively. A top 10 offense? I wouldn’t bank on that, but Top 15-17? It’s not out of the realm of possibility, and would be a great Year One for Smith as OC.
The quarterbacks will be a massive upgrade
It’s not exactly a secret that the Steelers’ quarterbacks over the last two seasons have been nothing short of putrid. Kenny Pickett was dreadful, Mitch Trubisky wasn’t any better, and thank the football heavens for Mason Rudolph playing his butt off in the final month of the season or else we’d be force-fed another year of Pickett under center.
Cutting ties with all the bad quarterbacks and bringing in Russell Wilson and Justin Fields was a sign that the Steelers know they can’t just hope to limit teams to fewer than 20 points - not when you want to win big games. Wilson and Fields both looked terrific throughout this process. The zip on the ball and the moon shots are still very much there for Wilson, and as OTAs transitioned to minicamp, you could see he was getting more comfortable with the offense and making more anticipatory throws. With Fields, he is showing more patience as a passer and letting plays develop in the pocket rather than immediately taking off. That’s not to say he won’t run - because he did, and when he did it was as advertised.
Both of these guys brink a skillset that the Steelers have lacked at the position for quite sometime. That’s not to say that Wilson and/or Fields will be elite, but that’s not the bar the Steelers have set. The bar for Pittsburgh the last few seasons has been bottom of the barrel play from the quarterback position. If Wilson/Fields are the 17th best quarterback in football, that’s a massive upgrade. And if that is the case, and the defense matches its expectations and potential, this is a team that can win 11 games.