3 Steelers Players Who Must Step Up in October
The Pittsburgh Steelers will usher in a new era at quarterback against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, when Kenny Pickett makes his first start for the franchise.
Pittsburgh will be hopeful the 24-year-old develops over the next few months and proves why he was a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft.
Pickett can't succeed on his own, though, especially with a gauntlet of games ahead in October. The Steelers visit Buffalo, host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and then go on the road to face the Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles.
Head coach Mike Tomlin needs some of his more experienced players on offense to step up throughout the month to support the full transition to the Pittsburgh product as the starter.
The Steelers will not look perfect from the first snap of Pickett's reign, but they can make improvements every week to set themselves up for wins when the schedule gets easier after the Week 9 bye.
Pittsburgh's offense will be under the spotlight with the rookie at the helm, but its defense also needs to improve in order to give the signal-caller his best shot at winning games.
The Steelers have conceded over 340 total yards in each of their four games and over 250 passing yards in three of four contests. Their passing defense needs to get better with so many quality quarterbacks coming up on the schedule.
Chase Claypool
1 of 3
Chase Claypool is off to one of the most disappointing starts of any player on the Pittsburgh roster.
The wide receiver was targeted six times in each of the first three games, but he managed just 11 catches for 79 yards. He did not catch either of his two targets in the Week 4 loss to the New York Jets.
Claypool enters October with the fourth-most receiving yards on the Steelers roster behind Diontae Johnson, Pat Freiermuth and George Pickens.
The 24-year-old can't let Pickens surge past him in most receiving categories because then his production could drop even further. The rookie second-rounder has worked with Pickett in training camp, and the two may form a connection on the field.
Claypool has not had a 100-yard performance since Week 5 of 2021, and he has three games with 50 or more receiving yards since then.
The Notre Dame product has three or more receptions in six of his last seven games dating back to Week 16 of last season, but the big plays have not been there for him.
Pittsburgh could use a few productive games out of Claypool in October so that Pickett is not relying on just one or two players to catch all of his passes.
Johnson and Freiermuth should still get a good amount of targets, but if the ball is spread out to Claypool and he delivers with a few big plays, the Steelers have a chance of going .500 in October.
Najee Harris
2 of 3
Najee Harris is coming off his best performance of the young season.
The Steelers' top ball-carrier produced 74 yards on 18 carries and averaged over four yards per carry for the first time this season.
The 24-year-old will be under extra pressure to perform over the next few weeks so that he can take some pressure off the shoulders of his rookie quarterback.
Pickett can't be asked to do everything right away for the Steelers, and the more ground support he gets, the better the chances will be of the team leaving October with several wins.
Harris will have a personal challenge over the next few weeks to thrive against some tough defenses.
Buffalo, Tampa Bay, Miami and Philadelphia all rank inside the top 12 in rushing defense. Each of those teams would be wise to try to take away Harris and make Pickett convert on all the big plays.
Harris does not need to be in triple digits in rushing yards every game, but if he can average around four or five yards per carry, as he did in Week 4, the Steelers offense will function at its highest capacity.
Levi Wallace and Arthur Maulet
3 of 3
The Pittsburgh secondary outside of Minkah Fitzpatrick needs to play much better.
The Steelers have conceded the 12th-most completions and passing yards and fourth-most first downs by passing in the NFL, per Pro Football Reference.
Those numbers need to improve with Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts and Tom Brady on the schedule in October. Miami could have Teddy Bridgewater still leading its dangerous passing attack depending on Tua Tagovailoa's status.
Levi Wallace and Arthur Maulet can both be blamed for Pittsburgh's passing defense being as bad as it is.
Maulet gave up four completions on six targets and 18.5 yards per completion against the New York Jets in Week 4.
Wallace has allowed 11 of his 20 targets to be caught and is giving up 12.3 yards per completion and 6.8 yards per target, both of which are higher totals than he posted last season.
Maulet's season-long numbers are not much better. He has allowed six catches on 10 targets for 15.7 yards per completion and 9.4 yards per target.
The Steelers can't rely solely on Fitzpatrick to make a few big plays each game to bail out the rest of the secondary.
All four October opponents are capable of producing big plays through the air and prolonged drives that keep Pickett and the offense off the field.
If the passing defense does not improve, Pittsburgh could go into the Week 9 bye with some gaudy numbers that may not be corrected in the second half of the season.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
