Envisioning Pittsburgh Steelers' Starting Lineup for 2015 Season
The NFL draft is over, as is the majority of free agency. Though players will be added and subtracted from teams' rosters throughout the coming months and surprises are guaranteed to pop up on depth charts, the top of the roster is mostly set for many teams.
The Pittsburgh Steelers added eight players in the draft and a handful of others during free agency. Given what we know about their roster as it stands now, it's not hard to make an early prediction on who the team's starters may be this year. Here is a position-by-position prediction of who will be starting for Pittsburgh for the 2015 season.
Quarterback
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Starter: Ben Roethlisberger
There's no quarterback controversy in Pittsburgh. The Steelers' starter for 2015โand for years to comeโwill be Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger is coming off of the best season of his career, completing 67.1 percent of his passes for 4,952 yards, 32 touchdowns and just nine interceptions while taking only 33 sacks in 2014.
As a reward for his efforts and with a nod toward his high level of production continuing in the future, Roethlisberger was given a four-year, $87.4 million contract extension this offseason, which includes $31 million in guaranteed money. Only a significant injury would prevent him from starting in Week 1 and throughout the length of the 2015 season.
Running Backs
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Starters: Le'Veon Bell, DeAngelo Williams
The only thing preventing Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell from being the team's starter for the first three weeks of the season is a three-game suspension he'll have to serve as punishment for a 2014 DUI. But beyond the suspension, Bell is certain to be the Steelers' rushing leaderโand perhaps one of their receiving leaders as well.
In 2014, Bell rushed 290 times for 1,361 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging 4.7 yards per carry. He was also the Steelers' second-leading receiver with 854 yards and three scores on his 105 catches, and he led the team in yards after the catch with 723.ย
Bell will have some help, though, in the form of veteran DeAngelo Williams, whom the Steelers signed as a free agent earlier in the spring. Williams comes to the team with nine years of experience, all with the Carolina Panthers. He has a career yards-per-carry average of 4.8 yards, though that dropped to 3.5 in 2014, when he rushed 62 times for 219 yards and no scores while appearing in only six games.
Other backs, such as Josh Harris, could get a few carries in 2015, but the bulk of the touches will belong first to Bell and then Williams.ย
Wide Receivers
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Starters: Antonio Brown, Markus Wheaton, Martavis Bryant
The Steelers' starting group of wide receivers for 2015 is not difficult to predict, either. The position is led by Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh's leading receiver and one of the best in the league. Brown caught 129 of 182 passes thrown his way last year for 1,698 yards and 13 touchdowns. He averaged 106.1 yards per game and currently has an active streak of 32 straight games with at least five catches and at least 50 yards.
Joining him on the field will be Markus Wheaton and Martavis Bryant. Wheaton can work outside or in the slot, while Bryant is a home run-hitting deep threat. Though Bryant, a 2014 fourth-round draft pick, was inactive for the first seven games of the season, he made a major impact in the second half of the year, posting eight touchdowns on his 26 catches.
As the season wears on, rookie Sammie Coates could work his way onto the field, and it's possible that special teams fixture Darrius Heyward-Bey accounts for a handful of catches. But as far as starters are concerned, the Steelers' top three receivers will be Brown, Wheaton and Bryant.
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Tight Ends
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Starters: Heath Miller, Matt Spaeth, Jesse James
For the first time in a long time, the Steelers may have a timeshare system at the tight end position. Veteran Heath Miller should see the majority of the snaps, but with Matt Spaeth still hanging around as a highly useful blocker and the team drafting Jesse James in Round 5 this year, Miller may see some of his snaps eaten away at.
Miller was the Steelers' third-leading receiver last year with 66 catches for 761 yards. He wasn't the red-zone threat he has been in years past, however, totaling just three touchdowns. Spaeth, as usual, was sparingly used as a receiver; he had just three catches in 2014 for 46 yards and one touchdown.ย
James is the wild card. As a fifth-round pick, he could make the 53-man roster or he could be on the practice squad this year. He could emerge as Miller's replacement as early as in-season or as late as 2017. But because he has a similar skill set to Miller's and can be an every-down type of player, he's included among the starters for now.
Offensive Line
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Starters (Left to Right): Kelvin Beachum, Ramon Foster, Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro, Marcus Gilbert
The Steelers didn't add a single offensive lineman via the draft, a sign that the line has found the stability the team had been seeking for years. As such, the Steelers' 2015 offensive line should be identical to the 2014 version, with 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.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger can be hard to block for given the way he holds onto the football and extends plays. But the Steelers have found linemen who have the stamina to continue to block for however long it takes for Roethlisberger to get rid of the football.
And perhaps most importantly, the line has mastered the outside-zone-blocking scheme of line coach Mike Munchak, which is an integral part to Le'Veon Bell being such a productive running back. For the first time in a long time, the Steelers offensive line isn't broke and doesn't need fixing.
Defensive Line
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Starters: Cameron Heyward, Stephon Tuitt, Daniel McCullers, Steve McLendon
Cam Thomas' days starting at defensive end for the Steelers may be over given that 2014 second-round pick Stephon Tuitt leapfrogged him on the depth chart to close out last season. Tuitt will join entrenched starter Cameron Heyward as the Steelers' two starting defensive ends this year.
Defensive tackle is a trickier position. Though the Steelers operate out of a 3-4 base, their sub-packages got more on-field action last year. Starting nose tackle Steve McLendon played only 305 of the team's total 998 defensive snaps last season, according to Pro Football Focus, with his backup, Daniel McCullers, playing just 65 snaps.
Expect a similar use of the nose tackle position this year, but with McCullers getting nearly equal time on the field with McLendon. The Steelers' use of sub-packages could also mean a few snaps for Thomas, as well as for rookie Leterrius Walton or veteran Clifton Geathers. But Heyward, Tuitt, McCullers and McLendon should account for the majority of snaps played on Pittsburgh's defensive line.
Linebackers
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Starters: James Harrison, Arthur Moats, Jarvis Jones, Bud Dupree, Sean Spence, Ryan Shazier, Lawrence Timmons, Vince Williams
Both the inside and outside linebacker positions for the Steelers this year could be a rotational affair, much as it was last year. Some of that was the result of injuriesโparticularly a fractured wrist suffered by outside linebacker Jarvis Jones and knee and ankle injuries suffered by inside backer Ryan Shazierโbut some of it was also a situational decision.
At outside linebacker, Jones will be joined by re-signed veteran Arthur Moats, longtime Steelers stalwart James Harrison and rookie Bud Dupree.
Harrison, according to Steelers linebackers coach Joey Porter, will be on a snap count this year, ideally being held to 25 snaps per game. That means Jones will have ample time to live up to his Round 1 draft billing from 2013, and Dupree will get opportunities to show off his skills much earlier than a Steelers linebacker usually does. Moats' playing time, meanwhile, will hinge on how well the two younger linebackers handle their responsibilities.ย
On the inside, Lawrence Timmons should again see the most playing time, with Spence, Shazier and Williams all rotating depending on situation, down, distance and defensive formation. According to Pro Football Focus, Timmons played 997 defensive snaps last year, with Spence playing 510, Shazier 260 and Williams 253.
Secondary
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Starters (Cornerbacks): William Gay, Senquez Golson, Cortez Allen
Starters (Safeties): Mike Mitchell, Shamarko Thomas
The secondary is where most of the Steelers' remaining questions about their roster reside.
The team lost cornerback Ike Taylor to retirement and fellow corner Brice McCain to free agency and saw Cortez Allen slide from starter to slot corner to the bench following his four-year, $24.6 million contract extension last summer. In response, the team took two cornerbacks in the 2015 NFL draft, selecting Senquez Golson in Round 2 and Doran Grant in Round 4.
Questions at safety also linger, with Troy Polamalu retiring and few starter-quality safeties still on the roster. While the team brought back veteran Will Allen and drafted Gerod Holliman in Round 7 of this year's draft, Shamarko Thomas, taken in Round 4 of the 2013 NFL draft, seems to have the leg up to start alongside Mike Mitchell.
Last year, Antwon Blake and McCain were called upon to step up in Allen's place. That could be the case for Blake again in 2015, but given Allen's high price tag, the Steelers may be leaning toward giving Allen another chance to redeem himselfโbut likely in the slot.
Kicker
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Starter: Shaun Suisham
The Steelers have only one kicker on their roster presently, which is clearly a sign of confidence that Shaun Suisham will again be an asset to the team. In 2014, Suisham converted 29 of his 32 field-goal attempts, including a long of 53 yards. He also made all 45 of his extra-point attempts.
Suisham is a rarityโa kicker who can calmly take care of business even in the swirling winds of Heinz Field. It makes sense that the Steelers think highly enough of him to not even bring another kicker into the fold as minicamps are set to begin.
Punter
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Starter: Richie Leone
Punter is actually one of the more interesting roster battles for the Steelers this summer. Unsatisfied with the performance of incumbent Brad Wing, the Steelers brought two more punters onto the roster during the offseasonโRichie Leone and Jordan Berry.
It's not just Wing's punts that are an issue (he averaged 43.7 yards per punt last year and 38.8 net yards per punt), but also his shaky skills at holding the ball for Shaun Suisham's kicks. Leone, who had a career collegiate average of 43.1 yards per punt, may not beat out Berry. But one thing does seem certainโWing isn't likely to be the Steelers' punter for 2015.
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