The Khan Artist continues his overhaul of the roster.
The 2024 NFL Draft is officially complete, and boy howdy, has the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster done a 180 since the end of the 2023 season. With some big-time signings in free agency, including ILB Patrick Queen, paired with a total overhaul in the quarterback room with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields and trading away starting wide receiver Diontae Johnson (among many others), fans had already seen big-time shakeups in the depth chart.
Now, with the 2024 NFL Draft in the books, this roster — and in particular, the offense — are almost unrecognizable. With 2023 free agency signing of Isaac Seumalo at left guard and the drafting of Broderick Jones in Round 1, the offensive line transformation had begun. Now, with offensive tackle Troy Fautanu and center Zach Frazier, the transformation is complete, and the Steelers are looking as ready as they have in recent years to compete.
At the completion of the 2024 NFL Draft, here’s a look at the projected Steelers depth chart for the coming season.
Editor’s note: These are my projections for the Pittsburgh Steelers depth chart in the 2024 season and mine alone. They do not reflect the opinions of the rest of Behind The Steel Curtain’s writing staff, nor am I claiming any “insider” information regarding the team’s current depth chart projection.
Biggest takeaways
- There are many changes in the Steelers’ offensive depth chart heading into the 2024, and quarterback is just the start of it. From quarterback to wide receiver to the offensive line (and offensive coordinator, to boot!), this team will look very, very different in the 2024 NFL season. HC Mike Tomlin continues to note that Wilson is in the “pole position” for QB1, and I think they give him every opportunity to earn another contract as they hit the “reset button” for Justin Fields after a tumultuous start to his career in Denver.
- The biggest shift from 2023 comes on the offensive line. The Steelers released 2023 starting center Mason Cole after the season and they entered the draft without a single center on the roster. Meanwhile, Dan Moore Jr. hung around at left tackle, with him and Cole combining for an absolutely ridiculous 93 total pressures last season. Now, they’ve got viable starters on every single position of the offensive line, including the additions of first-round pick tackle Troy Fautanu, Round 2 center Zach Frazier and Round 4 IOL Mason McCormick. I’ve slotted Fautanu and Frazier in for starting roles Day 1, while I project McCormick to take over backup duties along the interior with a ton of positional flexibility coming out of South Dakota State.
- I could picture the Steelers moving on from Dan Moore Jr., as the least versatile option remaining on the OL. That would mean the Steelers leaning on McCormick and 2023 seventh-round pick OL Spencer Anderson for most of the backup duties, who both have the versatility to play multiple positions on the line in the case of injury. Moore has played 5939 of 5980 (99%) of career snaps dating back to 2017 at Texas A&M at left tackle. Per Spotrac, a pre or post-June 1 release of Moore would save just under $3.37 million against the cap in 2024 on the final year of his rookie contract, carrying just $174,476 in dead cap.
- The Steelers are more than good on tight ends. We’re done.
- New WR Roman Wilson fills a huge need, though he’s not as flashy as a Brandon Aiyuk. I’m still in awe of the value the Steelers found here in Round 3. Wilson can immediately fill a role out of the slot, and not just a gimmicky role, either. Despite a relatively smaller frame at 5’10 and 185 pounds, Wilson functions as a roleplayer in the short, intermediate and deep passing games. He’s got 4.39 speed and it shows on tape, with insanely reliable hands (just a single drop in 2023) — an excellent athlete with a respect for the role he can play in the blocking game. Steelers fans will absolutely love this dude from Day 1. Adding to the receiving room would never be a bad thing at this point, but Wilson was a high-floor option in this draft, which helps their outlook at the position tremendously.
- Pittsburgh’s wide receiver room is suddenly looking pretty dang speedy.
Steelers receivers 40 times.
Roman Wilson 4.39
George Pickens 4.47
Van Jefferson 4.39
Quez Watkins 4.35
Calvin Austin 4.32The Steelers are REALLY fast at wide receiver. Keep up.
— Kevin Adams (@KevinAdams26) April 27, 2024
Biggest takeaways
- Steelers defense survives any major shakeups. Instead, Pittsburgh opts for depth. There are no major updates as far as starters go on the defense following the 2024 NFL Draft, though an upgrade for their CB2 opposite Joey Porter Jr. would have been nice. They utilized three of their seven picks on the defensive side of the ball, with the first of them being on inside linebacker Payton Wilson of NC State.
- Depth at inside linebacker feels comfortable. 2023 was a bit of a disaster at inside linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and after free agency and the draft, we can assume they’d rather have too many than too few. After signing ILB Patrick Queen in free agency to join 2023 signings Cole Holcomb (injured) and Elandon Roberts, they put the cherry on top with Payton Wilson in Round 3. Wilson was without a doubt one of the highest-upside linebackers in this class, though a fairly disastrous medical history had him falling to the third round.
- Pittsburgh’s secondary still needs some help. Last year the Steelers deployed a rotation of veteran Patrick Peterson, Levi Wallace, Joey Porter Jr. (eventually) and Chandon Sullivan in the nickel. Sullivan (who remains a free agent) hit free agency, having played on a one-year deal with the Steelers, as did Levi Wallace, who recently signed with the Denver Broncos. Meanwhile, the Steelers released Peterson, saving approximately $7 million in dead cap. Since those moves, they acquired veteran Donte Jackson from the Panthers in the Diontae Johnson trade and drafted Texas DB Ryan Watts.
- Expect the Steelers to continue exploring their options at cornerback. Pittsburgh HC Mike Tomlin and GM Omar Khan reportedly met with former Steelers DB Cam Sutton leading up to the draft. It also wouldn’t be surprising to see them explore the possibility of bringing Chandon Sullivan back.
Biggest takeaways
- The Steelers filled out a huge need late in free agency with the signing of kick return specialist/running back Cordarrelle Patterson. It’s an especially impactful signing, despite Patterson entering his age-33 season, considering the recent changes in kickoff rule, which could open up some scoring possibilities. Patterson ranks ninth all-time with nine career kick return touchdowns while also leading all active players with a 29.3-yard kick return average.
- Right now, the Steelers actually have two rostered kickers, including starting kicker Chris Boswell and Matthew Wright, who Pittsburgh signed back in early April. Wright is a familiar face for the team, having rotated between the Steelers’ practice squad, the 53-man roster in the occasional case of injury to Boswell, and a number of other teams as a frequent journeyman. Since there hasn’t been any news of an alarming injury to Boswell, I won’t project him on the depth chart.
What do you think about this iteration of the Steelers depth chart? Is there anything you’d change?
