Author: AlexBrasky

The offense has received huge headlines, but the Steelers completely revamped their defensive backfield this offseason, too.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have loaded up.

Future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers was the big fish of Pittsburgh’s offseason, but the organization didn’t stop there. All told, the Steelers could have up to seven or eight new starters this season, while also making several key depth signings.

All the roster turnover went outside of what we’re used to seeing from one of the NFL’s most historic and reserved franchises.

Since the introduction of free agency in 1993, the Steelers have shown restraint when it comes to using free agency to make splash signings. Instead, they have instilled a draft-and-develop style approach, with the occasional shrewd trade. That strategy has produced plenty of championship-level results over the years. However, in recent seasons, Pittsburgh has hit a roadblock, going without a playoff victory for eight seasons.

Head coach Mike Tomlin has been in the fan base’s crosshairs the past few seasons, and now, with all of the added firepower the Steelers have brought in this offseason, it’s time for results, or his seat will only get hotter.

Offensive additions are the key to a Steelers turnaround

What will it take for the Steelers to put this miserable stretch behind them? It starts with the many offseason additions they made across both sides of the ball.

Rodgers is the headliner, but Pittsburgh will also need impressive contributions from pass-catchers D.K. Metcalf and Jonnu Smith. On the defensive side of the ball, cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay enter the fold hoping to bolster the Steelers’ secondary.

Let’s lay it all out — what will a successful season look like for Rodgers, Metcalf and the rest of the free-agent lot Pittsburgh scored this offseason?

Expectations for DK Metcalf are sky-high

As for what is to be expected of the team’s top connection in the passing game, Metcalf should see plenty of targets with Rodgers calling the signals. Last season with the New York Jets, Rodgers used his No. 1 wide receiver at an exceedingly high rate, beginning the year featuring Garrett Wilson and finishing the season focusing his attention on his old friend Davante Adams.

Before Adams was traded to the Jets, Wilson amassed an incredible 67 targets over the first six games of the season. That stretch included a Week 5 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, during which he was targeted an astounding 23 times. Once Adams made his way to New York beginning in Week 7, he averaged 10.3 targets per game over the team’s final 11 games of the year. Wilson finished the year with 101 receptions, while Adams totaled 85 catches during the 2024 campaign.

All of this is to say that Metcalf, who is the clear-cut top target for Rodgers entering the preseason, should be the most heavily featured wide receiver on Pittsburgh’s roster. And if history tells us anything, when Rodgers finds a connection that he feels comfortable with, he empties the chamber week after week. Anything short of 80 receptions, 1,000 yards receiving and a handful of touchdowns would be disappointing for Metcalf this year. He is the X-factor in terms of how this new-look offense will come together in 2025.

The former Seattle Seahawks WR reached the high-water mark in terms of receptions for his career during the 2022 season, when he totaled 90 catches for 1,048 yards receiving and eight touchdowns. He has eclipsed 80 receptions in a season just once more, during the 2020 campaign when he finished with 83 receptions for 1,303 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns. He has scored five touchdowns or more in each season of his career and is coming off of a 2024 season in which he recorded 66 receptions for 992 yards receiving and five touchdowns in 15 games played.

Jonnu Smith and the Steelers’ revamped offense

When it comes to Smith’s potential contributions within Pittsburgh’s new-look passing game, his projections are a bit more difficult to nail down. After a slow start to his career, with stops including the Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons, Smith signed with the Dolphins in the spring of 2024 and proceeded to record a career season for Miami.

The soon-to-be 30-year-old finished last year with 88 receptions, 884 yards receiving and eight touchdowns while earning a heavy workload from QB Tua Tagovailoa. It may be difficult for him to repeat his career-best performance with a Pittsburgh team that also features Pat Freiermuth at the position. But he should bring added athleticism to the group and a reasonable projection should be 60 receptions, 600 yards receiving and a handful of touchdowns.

For Rodgers, after a season in which he enjoyed flashes of brilliance while recording 28 touchdown passes against 11 interceptions, he should be in a position to exceed his 2024 performance with a better offensive line in front of him than he was afforded a season ago, accompanied by a more well-structured offensive system with offensive coordinator Arthur Smith at the helm.

Steelers’ defense will rely on newcomers, too

Now, looking at the defensive side of the ball, particularly the back end, Ramsey and Slay have the ability to help transform a coverage unit that did a nice job taking away the ball in 2024, but struggled with consistency. The Steelers allowed 228 passing yards per game last season, which was 25th in the league.

With two veterans added to the mix, joining 2023 second-round pick Joey Porter Jr., the goal for this unit should be to find an adequate balance in the secondary that allows it to produce consistent results in coverage, rather than relying on the big play to help turn things around.

Slay has started 12 games or more for the Eagles in each of the past five seasons, and while he is an aging player, entering his age-34 season, his veteran savvy will be welcomed to what could be one of the best secondaries in the league.

Ramsey is also a bit long in the tooth, entering his age-31 season, but his production has shown no sign of falling off much, if at all, in recent seasons. Ramsey has recorded 13 interceptions and 50 passes defensed over the past four seasons, proving he still has the ball skills necessary to impact the game.

If Ramsey and Slay can each start 15-plus games and provide similar production to what they have in recent years, that will set the stage for Pittsburgh’s coverage unit to be much improved, at least in the short term. And honestly, that’s what it’s all about for the Steelers in 2025 — the right here, right now.

Juan Thornhill will also presumably slide into the starting free safety role following the departure of Minkah Fitzpatrick. If he can be more like the player he was in Kansas City, rather than who he was the past two years in Cleveland, the Steelers should feel relatively good about their secondary.

With its last postseason victory coming in January 2017, Pittsburgh needs to exorcise its demons and find a way to get over the hump in 2025. It is a tall task to ask of the Steelers to usurp the powerhouse Baltimore Ravens at the top of the division, but a second-place finish in the AFC North should be expected with a playoff victory thrown in as well.

Otherwise, heads may start to roll next offseason.