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An Overview of the Pittsburgh Steelers Defense

Mike Tomlin is the longest tenured NFL head coach. With 18 years on the job, it is hard to grasp just how impressive it is that the team has never had a losing record under his leadership. One significant factor in Tomlin's success is that the Steelers consistently play strong defense.

In some ways, the 2024 season was a down year for this unit. They are perennially at or near the top of the list in sacks. Last year saw the team's lowest total (40) and ranking since 2016, and they ranked 26th versus the pass. Those, however, are the only negatives to their performance. The run defense ranked sixth, and the team surrendered few long plays on the ground or through the air. Pittsburgh tied with Minnesota for the most takeaways at 33, and they were seventh in points.

Despite another year of quality play, the team could be sporting as many as five new starters when they hit the field for week one. Three of them will be in the secondary, where additions Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay Jr., and Juan Thornhill are expected to be in the lineup. There will be a new starter at inside linebacker, and first-round rookie Derrick Harmon is penciled in at one of the outside tackle spots. Most of the new faces represent upgrades, but not all of them. It is safe to expect another solid season from this defense. Time will tell if it is any better than last year's version.

Pittsburgh Steelers Defensive Linemen

The Steelers have some great names along the defensive front. Some of them have been there for a long time. Cameron Heyward was a first-round pick of the teams way back in 2011. He turned 36 in May and is entering his 15th season, all with Pittsburgh. The guy seems eternal and, like fine wine, only gets better with age.  

Heyward has been incredibly consistent throughout his career, but three of his most productive seasons have come in the last four. At age 32 in 2021, he piled up 89 combined tackles, 10 sacks, 3 turnovers, and 9 batted passes to be the fantasy game's top tackle. For an encore at age 33, he posted 74 total stops with 10 sacks, 2 turnovers, and 4 batted passes to finish second.

Heyward battled a groin injury in 2023, missing six games early and playing at less than 100% the entire season. There was some speculation that he was in decline and would never return to form. Heyward silenced the critics last year with 71 tackles, 8 sacks, a career high 11 batted passes, and a final rank of second, just six points behind Leonard Williams.

It is possible that this could be his final season. It is safe to say that Heyward will be the same player right up to the time that he decides to hang up the cleats on his own terms. We should not count on him being among the top five at the end of the year, but it will be no surprise if his name is there yet again.

With the selection of Derrick Harmon, the Steelers have prepared for life after Heyward. Meanwhile, they get to have both of these guys for at least this year. In many ways, Harmon is a clone of Heyward. He is slightly bigger, at six feet four, 313 pounds, with the versatility to play anywhere along the defensive line. Harmon is known for his strength, quickness off the ball, and ability to disrupt plays in both the run and pass game.

There are not many players at the tackle position with the ability to put up 60+ tackles and 8 or more sacks year in and year out. From the stat-friendly scheme to his skillset and college production, Harmon has the potential to be one of them. His college career started at Michigan State, where he played two seasons, starting some games while participating in 24. Harmon totaled 70 tackles. 3.5 sacks and a couple of turnovers with the Spartans. He transferred to Oregon last year, where he was 27-18-5 with 2 forced fumbles, 2 recoveries, and 4 batted passes.

Harmon has huge long-term potential, so dynasty managers in particular should be all over him. It would be no surprise if he has value to offer in his rookie campaign as well.

Keeanu Benton rounds out the starting lineup at nose tackle. He is tough to move and is an anchor for the run defense, but comes off the field in most sub-package situations. Benton can soak up double teams without giving ground and does a good job of keeping the inside linebackers clean. He is a big part of the team's success versus the run, but much of his contribution does not show up under his name on the stat sheet.

The Steelers do not mass rotate or use a lot of players along the interior line. Only the three starters had more than 207 snaps last year. DeMarvin Leal, Isaiahh Loudermilk, Daniel Ekuale, and rookie Yahya Black will compete to determine the pecking order for the scraps left over by the starters. While these guys provide a good mix of youth and experience, there is no one here with fantasy potential, even if one of the starters is lost.    

There was some initial chatter about the team being willing to trade T.J. Watt in the offseason. Steelers fans let out a big sigh of relief and AFC North opponents a sigh of disappointment when their star edge defender signed a three-year contract extension.

There is no way to overstate how good this guy is. Maybe the best example is that he is the first player in history to lead the league in sacks three times. On top of being an elite pass rusher, Watt is outstanding versus the run, can make plays in coverage, and forces a boatload of turnovers. He has at least 54 combined stops in every season of his eight-year career except the injury-shortened 2022. To go with the 109 career sacks, Watt has 7 interceptions, 50 passes defended, 32 forced fumbles, 12 recoveries, and a score on his resume.

The only argument against making Watt the first defensive player off the board is that he will be 31 in October, and he appeared human in 2024. At 40-21-11.5 with 8 turnovers, and 4 batted passes, Watt "plummeted" all the way to number two, behind Andrew Van Ginkel. The 40 solo stops were his lowest total in a non-injury season since 2019, and the 11.5 sacks were the least since he was a rookie in 2017. Thirty-one is not all that old, even in NFL years, and a bounce-back in the sack column feels almost imminent. He may not reclaim the number one spot, but no one is a better bet to make the top three.

If your plan to nab Watt is thwarted, don't panic. Sit tight for a few rounds and snag Alex Highsmith, who might be a better value based on where you can get him. Highsmith was the team's third-round pick in 2020. Like most rookie edge defenders, he posted modest numbers in year one. In his second season, Highsmith began to show up. His sack totals remained modest at six, but the 46 solo stops and 28 assists were enough to put him on the IDP radar.

When Watt was injured in 2022, Highsmith stepped up in the lead role. With 62 combined tackles, 14 sacks, and 5 forced fumbles, he made the top ten. Though he did not miss much time, Highsmith battled nagging injuries in 2023 that took a toll on his numbers. His tackle totals were down slightly at 57 combined, and his sack total fell by half to 7. Four turnovers, three batted passes, and a touchdown were enough to keep him inside the top 20.

Those lesser numbers, combined with last year's 28-17-6 and 1 forced fumble, will have a lot of managers looking past Highsmith this year. Don't be one of those managers. He missed three games early in the year with a groin injury, and three more later with an ankle. If we factor in his average production for the six games missed, Highsmith would have been something like 48-29-10.5. That is not taking into consideration that he was not fully healthy in some of the games he played.

There is a little concern that Highsmith has dealt with the same injuries two years in a row. If you can pick him up as a second starter, the potential reward far outweighs the risk.

A couple of things that led to speculation about Watt being traded were the play of Nick Herbig and the selection of Jack Sawyer in the draft. Herbig has done an excellent job of plugging holes for short stretches over the last two seasons. The team's fourth-round pick in 2023, Herbig is 32-17-8 with 6 forced fumbles and 3 recoveries on 634 snaps in his young career. He will never get enough playing time as the third man to be relevant, but should one of the starters be out for an extended time, don't drop the ball on snapping him up.

Sawyer may not have been in the team's plans entering the draft. When the Ohio State standout was staring at them in the fourth round, how could they pass? Many teams had a high second-round grade on him, and there was speculation that the Bengals would take him in the first. A couple of years from now, Cincinnati might wish they had.

Sawyer is not a twitchy speed rusher, but rather a power guy with a relentless motor, who excels at getting off blocks and making plays in the run game, while using solid technique and tenacity to win as a rusher. Sawyer got on the field often in all four of his seasons with the Buckeyes, working as a starter the last two. His totals from 2023 and 2024 were 107 tackles, 15.5 sacks, 7 turnovers, 7 batted passes, and a score. If he is not buried behind greatness in a couple of years, Sawyer could become a major factor.

• Edge T.J. Watt – Elite tier 1
• Edge Alex Highsmith – Target as a priority second starter
• Edge Nick Herbig – Injury sleeper with big upside
• Edge Jack Sawyer – Injury sleeper/dynasty target
• DT Cameron Heyward – Quality DT1 with top-three potential
• DT Derrick Harmon – High-potential rookie
• DT DeMarvin Leal – No impact
• DT Isaiahh Loudermilk – No impact
• NT Keeanu Benton – No impact
• NT Yahya Black – No impact

Pittsburgh Steelers Linebackers

The Steelers have been searching for the right player, or combination of players, at inside linebacker since the injury to Ryan Shazier in 2017. The extensive list of guys getting shots at the job includes Jon Bostic, Mark Barron, Robert Spillane, Devin Bush, Avery Williamson, Vince Williams, Joe Schobert, Myles Jack, Kwon Alexander, Cole Holcomb, and Elandon Roberts.

With the signing of Patrick Queen last offseason, they finally solidified one of those spots. Queen missed two defensive snaps in 2024. His stats were not eye-catching at 65-64-1 with 3 turnovers and 7 passes defended, but they were enough to land him in the LB2 range for us. On the field, Queen was just what the Steelers were looking for: a technically sound every-down player with good cover skills, who makes some big plays, and maybe most importantly, provides leadership.

Queen put up better numbers with Baltimore in 2022 and 2023, so there is potential for improvement in his second season with the Steelers. There is no reason to think he would regress.  

The Pittsburgh defense faced 1165 plays in 2024. They fielded two inside linebackers on 1034 of them. Those snaps were split virtually equally between Elandon Roberts and Payton Wilson. Between them, the two produced 72-52-1 with 5 turnovers, and a point total that would have landed around 17th. With Roberts now in Las Vegas and Wilson having a year of experience under his belt, all of the playing time could be Wilson's in 2025.

The organization rolled the dice on Wilson in the third round. The gamble had nothing to do with skill set or talent and everything to do with a long history of injuries. During his college career at North Carolina State, he suffered two ACL injuries and had shoulder surgery. Wilson has no ACL in one of his knees, and questions remained about the shoulder after the surgery that was described as "not a great operation". Wilson is not the first player without an ACL to work for the team. Steeler greats Greg Lloyd and Hines Ward both played without one.

Wilson came through last season without a glitch. If he can stay healthy, the Steelers might have the steal of last year's draft. In 2023, he won the Butkus Award for the best linebacker in college football and the Chuck Bednarik Award, which is given to the college game's best defensive player. In 23 games for the Wolf Pack over two years, Wilson has 220 total tackles, 10.5 sacks, and 7 turnovers. He is certainly worth the price of a mid to late-round pick.      

Wilson is a huge favorite, but he could see some competition from Cole Holcomb. Holcomb suffered a career-threatening knee injury in November of 2023. He missed last season while working his way back and was cleared to practice in January. He was a solid starter before the injury. It is hard to say where he is now.

The team added Malik Harrison in free agency. He is a safety net who can fill in adequately if needed, but is not a serious threat to steal the job away without someone ahead of him being injured.

• ILB Patrick Queen – Decent number two or excellent third starter
• ILB Payton Wilson – Strong sleeper with LB2 potential
• ILB Cole Holcomb – injury sleeper
• ILB Malik Harrison – Deep injury sleeper
• ILB Mark Robinson – Special teams guy

Pittsburgh Steelers Defensive Backs

The Steelers approached their secondary situation like a team in the hunt for a title now. They didn't draft or sign a bunch of young guns to help them down the road, instead investing in 34-year-old corner Darius Slay Jr. and 30-year-old Jalen Ramsey. In their prime, these two were among the league's elite at the position. Both are a bit beyond that now, but are still very good players and an upgrade over last year's starters.

From the fantasy perspective, Slay has never been more than a marginal contributor. Ramsey, however, landed in the perfect storm with the Rams in 2021 and 2022. Working as a freelance slot corner, he totaled 126 tackles, 38 assists, 14 turnovers, 2 sacks, 34 passes defended, and a pair of top-three finishes over those two seasons. The spell was broken when he went to Miami and turned back into a pumpkin in 2023. With Slay and Joey Porter Jr. handling the outside spots, could Ramsey rekindle the magic in his return to the slot? I would say definitely maybe…

Porter was the Steelers' best option at corner last year. His 70 combined stops were not bad, but there was virtually no splash play help. He is an excellent young corner in coverage, but is simply not a big-play threat.  

One of the offseason's biggest head scratchers was the Steelers swapping out Minkah Fitzpatrick for Joan Thornhill at free safety. Unless it was about money, or possibly a plan to use Ramsey in some of the situations that Fitzpatrick excelled in, I have no idea what they were thinking on that one. It was a clear downgrade for Pittsburgh and removed a decent fantasy target as well.  

DeShon Elliott's career got off to a slow start in Baltimore. In three years with the team, he was a starter for most of one season, and that was due to an injury. Elliott played fairly well and put up good numbers on a one-year contract with the Lions in 2022, followed by a forgettable 2023 with Miami. Sometimes the NFL is all about finding the right fit. If last year was any indication, Elliott found it with the Steelers.

Elliott missed two games late in the year. In 15 starts, he recorded 73-35-0 with 6 turnovers and 6 pass breakups. At over eleven points per game, he ranked sixth among safeties. Had he not put up similar numbers in 2022 (less a couple of turnovers), it would be easy to write this off as a mirage. Doing it twice in three years, however, paints a different picture. It is unclear how the new additions and possible scheme tweaks will affect the breakdown of production on the back end. At the very least, Elliott should be a decent second starter for us.  

The Steelers picked up good veteran depth with the signing of Chuck Clark, who has the versatility to handle either safety role if needed.

• FS Juan Thornhill – Marginal impact
• SS DeShon Elliott – At least a solid second starter with top 12 upside
• SS Chuck Clark – Injury sleeper
• CB Jalen Ramsey – Could be this year's big surprise at corner
• CB Joey Porter Jr. – Marginal fantasy value
• CB Darius Slay Jr. – No impact
• CB Beanie Bishop Jr. – No impact
• CB Brandin Echols – No impact

That does it for this year's team rundowns. I'll be back with an update after the first round of preseason games. Until then, draft well and Just Win Baby!

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