Predicting Pittsburgh Steelers Starting Lineup After the 1st Wave of Free Agency
The first week of NFL free agency is over, and while transactions will continue for months, the Pittsburgh Steelers have, by and large, made most of their moves. Though roster shakeups could certainly occur, given that the draft is just over a month away, for now, the Steelers are mostly stable.
So, with that in mind, let's take a look at the projected Steelers starters at every position for 2015 given that the bulk of major free-agency activity has wrapped.
QB: Roethlisberger
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To the surprise of no one, Ben Roethlisberger remains the Pittsburgh Steelers' starting quarterback heading into 2015—and likely for the next several years given his four-year, $87.4 million contract extension.
Roethlisberger is coming off of the best season in his career, completing 67.1 percent of his passes for 4,952 yards and throwing 32 touchdowns to nine interceptions. He's clearly the face of the Steelers franchise at present.
RBs: Bell, Williams
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The Steelers have, arguably, the best running back in the NFL in Le'Veon Bell, their 2013 second-round draft pick. Bell rushed 290 times in 2014 for 1,361 yards and eight touchdowns and also caught 83 passes for 854 yards and three more scores. He'll reprise his role as the Steelers' leading rusher—and likely a top-three receiver—in 2015.
Backing him up and spelling him will be recent free-agent signing DeAngelo Williams. The longtime veteran of the Carolina Panthers will take on the role held by LeGarrette Blount last season, getting the occasional short-yardage and goal-line carry and getting touches when the Steelers deem that Bell should sit out a down or two.
WRs: Brown, Bryant, Wheaton
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Antonio Brown was Pro Football Focus' top-ranked receiver last season, and for good reason—he caught 72.5 percent of the 182 passes thrown his way for 1,698 yards and 13 touchdowns. He accounted for 85 first downs and 568 yards after the catch. A leader on the field and in the locker room, Brown is nowhere close to relinquishing his lockdown on the Steelers' No. 1 receiver job.
Joining him on the outside this year will likely be second-year player Martavis Bryant. On just 306 snaps played in 2014, he caught 26 passes for 549 yards and eight touchdowns. He appears to have earned himself more playing time with such efficient rookie-year production.
Markus Wheaton will also have a bigger role in the passing game, working both outside and in the slot. Wheaton caught 53 passes on 87 targets last season for 644 yards and two touchdowns. Though not a home run hitter, Wheaton can move the chains.
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TEs: Miller, Spaeth
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Heath Miller appears poised to return for at least one more season as the Steelers' top tight end. Miller caught 66 passes last season for 761 yards and three scores while also allowing just one sack on Roethlisberger as a blocker.
Assisting Miller in blocking duties will be Matt Spaeth, re-signed last week to a two-year, $2.2 million contract. Spaeth primarily handles run-blocking; he caught just three passes for 46 yards and a touchdown last season. However, his role is important given how heavily the team is leaning on Bell's rushing skills.
OL: Beachum, Foster, Pouncey, DeCastro, Gilbert
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For the first time in what feels like at least a decade, the Steelers won't be experiencing any significant changes to their offensive line. The line should be the same as it was last season: Kelvin Beachum at left tackle, Ramon Foster at left guard, Maurkice Pouncey at center, David DeCastro at right guard and Marcus Gilbert at right tackle.
That stability pays dividends—Roethlisberger was sacked just 33 times in 2014 versus 42 times in 2013, and the Steelers' run game totaled over 300 more yards than it did in 2013.
DL: Heyward, McLendon, McCullers, Tuitt
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Perhaps a bit of wishful thinking here is that Cam Thomas won't be in a Steelers uniform come Week 1—or, at the very least, will be relegated to the bench as depth. For that to happen, however, second-year defensive end Stephon Tuitt will need to prove he's an every-down player. Considering his 405 snaps played last year were just shy of Thomas' total of 443, it's certainly possible. Tuitt totaled 17 tackles and one sack in 2014.
At nose tackle will either be Steve McLendon, who started most of the season at the position last year, or another second-year player, the massive Daniel McCullers. This will depend more on McCullers' development than anything.
Cam Heyward will be the Steelers' other starting defensive end. At 876 snaps played in 2014, he was on the field more than any of Pittsburgh's defensive linemen. Heyward had 53 tackles, 7.5 sacks, six tackles for a loss and four passes defensed last season.
LBs: Jones, Moats, Williams, Shazier, Spence, Timmons
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It's expected that the Steelers will add more outside linebackers to their roster between now and Week 1, but for now, the starting duo will be Arthur Moats and Jarvis Jones. Moats totaled 23 tackles and four sacks in 2014, while Jones, who spent much of the season sidelined with a broken wrist, totaled two sacks and 18 tackles.
The interior linebackers will rotate—all except one, that is. Lawrence Timmons played 997 of the Steelers' 998 defensive snaps last season, while Vince Williams, Sean Spence and Ryan Shazier all rotated alongside him. Shazier, a rookie in 2014, played the fewest snaps, owing to time missed to knee and ankle injuries. All five linebackers will play significant roles again in 2015.
CBs: Gay, Allen, Blake
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Given that Ike Taylor is a free agent who is not expected back in Pittsburgh and Brice McCain is now with the Miami Dolphins, the present starting trio of cornerbacks for the Steelers appears to be William Gay, Cortez Allen and Antwon Blake.
Gay was the Steelers' third-best tackler in 2014, totaling 69. He also had 12 passes defensed and three interceptions. Allen, initially considered a starter, was demoted to slot cornerback and then ultimately benched. He had 41 tackles, 11 passes defensed and two interceptions, but he also allowed five touchdown passes to opposing offenses. Allen will need to step up in 2015—or be replaced in the draft.
Blake was given an RFA tender by the Steelers. He took over the slot cornerback role from Allen and ended the year with 42 tackles, six passes defensed and an interception. He'll likely keep that job in the upcoming season.
S: Polamalu, Mitchell
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Until Troy Polamalu—or the Steelers—makes a decision about his future, he remains with the team. And as such, he remains the Steelers' starting strong safety. Polamalu had 61 tackles last season but only had one pass defensed and no interceptions or sacks.
At free safety will remain Mike Mitchell. Mitchell had 71 tackles and three passes defensed in his first season with the Steelers. Both safeties need to play better in 2015—either that, or be bailed out by the cornerbacks and linebackers. Their coverage skills, in particular, need improvement. For that reason, it's hard to expect Polamalu being the de facto starter for long.
ST: Wheaton, Brown, Suisham, Wing, Warren
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The core of the Steelers' special teams unit shouldn't change this year, with kicker Shaun Suisham, punter Brad Wing and long snapper Greg Warren all reprising their roles. What could change, however, is at the returner position, particularly punt returner.
Last year, most of the punts were returned by wide receiver Antonio Brown. However, with such an invaluable role to play on offense, that job could fall to Dri Archer, who returned just one punt for two yards last year.
Wheaton, meanwhile, should remain the Steelers' primary kick returner. He returned 20 kickoffs last season for 494 yards. He could also be joined by Archer, who had nine kick returns for 161 yards in 2014.
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