Pittsburgh Steelers: Defensive Positional Breakdown, Depth Chart Analysis

The legacy of the Pittsburgh Steelers is so often defined by their defense. But that side of the ball has struggled in recent years. Last season, the Steelers totaled only 33 combined sacks and struggled in coverage as well as against the run.

This year, the goal is to turn that trend around under new defensive coordinator Keith Butler. Let's take a look at the Steelers' defensive players by position and try to figure out how the depth chart will shake out this year.

Defensive Line

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Unlike the other three teams in the AFC North, the Steelers aren't particularly rotational with their defensive line. Cameron Heyward will reprise his role as the team's starting defensive end, and for good reason—in 2014, he was Pro Football Focus' sixth-ranked 3-4 defensive end and tied for the team's most sacks, with 7.5.

2014 draft pick Stephon Tuitt, who eventually earned starting snaps late in his rookie season, is expected to start alongside Heyward this year. That's good news, because it means that Cam Thomas, Pro Football Focus' last-ranked 3-4 defensive end last season, won't be on the field much. 

Thomas will be a backup alongside Clifton Geathers, whom the Steelers re-signed this offseason at the request of defensive line coach John Mitchell. Rookie L.T. Walton, meanwhile, could spend the year on the practice squad learning the new position—he was a defensive tackle in college. Niko Davis, Matt Conrath, Ethan Hemer and Joe Kruger will all be battling for backup roles this summer as well.

At nose tackle, Steve McLendon looks to reprise his role as a starter and hopefully earn a new contract from the Steelers in return. Last year, McLendon missed four games with a shoulder injury that he had surgically repaired in the offseason.

McLendon is looking forward to this season. He told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ray Fittipaldo, "Now I'm back healthy and I can use [the shoulder]. I regained all my strength and range of motion. I can help my team out now. I don't have to worry about any more setbacks or time off. I don't have any worries. I took the necessary steps to get ready for this year."

But if something does happen to McLendon, second-year player Daniel McCullers is waiting in the wings. Rounding out the defensive tackle position is Mike Thornton, who will likely struggle to make it on the 53-man roster.

Outside Linebacker

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The Steelers simply must improve their pass rush this year, and it starts with the outside linebackers. The group will be led by veterans James Harrison and Arthur Moats and rounded out by rookie Bud Dupree and 2013 first-round draft pick Jarvis Jones.

Harrison, at 37 years old, seems ageless on the field. But the goal of outside linebackers coach Joey Porter is to limit his snaps to around 25 per game. He'll be splitting time with Dupree and Jones, while Moats looks likely to hold down the starting job on the left side practically full-time.

The question is whether Jones can live up to his billing. He's had just three sacks and 58 combined tackles in two seasons, with 2014 marred by a fractured wrist.

Porter is not concerned, though. He told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "I thought Jarvis was playing good last year until he got hurt. So it doesn't bother me on how it ended last year with Jarvis. I still think he is one of the better linebackers in the league and he will be that. It just hasn't happened yet."

Meanwhile, it appears that Dupree could crack the starting lineup as early as Week 1, given that he's already been working with the first-team defense this offseason. Training camp and the preseason will make all the difference, though, as he's yet to practice in full pads with full contact.

The Steelers' backups at outside linebacker are sixth-round 2015 draft pick Anthony Chickillo, 2014 preseason standout Howard Jones, former CFL player Shawn Lemon and longtime backup Terence Garvin.

Jones or Lemon could ultimately bounce Garvin from the 53-man roster later this summer, while Chickillo is a strong candidate to spend the year on the practice squad while he continues to hone his pass-rushing technique. 

Inside Linebacker

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The Steelers aren't as deep at inside linebacker as they are at outside linebacker, but they don't need to be—their pair of starters are pretty much set this year, with Lawrence Timmons being joined full-time by 2014 first-round draft pick Ryan Shazier, who is finally healthy.

Last year, Shazier missed seven games with ankle and knee injuries after starting the first five weeks. In his absence, Vince Williams and Sean Spence rotated alongside Timmons, and then Shazier, Williams and Spence worked in a timeshare once Shazier returned later in the year.

NFL.com's Chris Wesseling believes that Shazier is poised for a breakout season in 2015, which would mean far less playing time for Williams and Spence than last season. In 2014, Williams and Spence played 253 and 510 snaps apiece, respectively. This year, the two could be backups, playing on defense sparingly.

The unknown is Jordan Zumwalt. Zumwalt, who is capable of playing inside or outside linebacker—but skews to the inside in the Steelers' scheme—missed his entire rookie season with a groin injury. Zumwalt told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ray Fittipaldo, "Last year, for me, was more like a learning-curve year. It was a like a redshirt year for professional football."

Given the depth ahead of him, though, Zumwalt will have to make his mark not on defense, but on special teams. He's aware of this fact, and he told Fittipaldo, "I'm going to try to compete. I love the game of football. It's the highest level of competition. I'm just going to compete, do my best, learn from the best and try to get on special teams as much as possible. I'm going out and going as hard as I can."

Safety

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With veteran Troy Polamalu retiring from the NFL earlier this offseason, much attention has been paid to the Steelers' safety position, and for good reason. Polamalu is a hard act to follow, and finding a true replacement for him is impossible.

But Shamarko Thomas will have to try. For what it's worth, Thomas knows he is not Polamalu, no matter how close he is with the former player or how much he tries to emulate his playing and preparation style. And the learning curve this summer may be a steep one. Though Thomas played 193 snaps on defense in his rookie year, according to Pro Football Focus, he only played two as a safety in 2014.

At free safety, Mike Mitchell will reprise his starting role and hopefully have a better season in 2015 than he did in 2014. That down year for him was likely heavily affected by the two torn groins he played with all season. He's since had them surgically repaired.

Backing up both Mitchell and Thomas is Will Allen, whom the Steelers brought back this offseason on a one-year, $1.05 million contract. Though Allen, like Polamalu, is 33 years old, he has far less wear and tear on him than Polamalu and has proven to be a capable backup in Pittsburgh for years.

The rest of the Steelers safeties are, for the most part, reserves who also work on special teams. Alden Darby, Ross Ventrone, Jordan Dangerfield and rookie Gerod Holliman will all have to prove their special teams value in training camp and the preseason to earn spots on the 53-man roster, with Holliman and Ventrone having the best odds of his happening.

The exception to this is Robert Golden, who is not only an important special teams player but who also has the best shot outside of Allen of seeing the field as a safety, should Thomas or Mitchell be forced to miss any time.

Cornerback

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Things are a bit murkier for the Steelers at cornerback this year than they are at safety. This is because the team has a number of cornerbacks to choose from and only so many opportunities to use them.

Boundary starter from 2014, William Gay, has spent a lot of time this offseason as the team's slot cornerback. But the arrival of second-round draft pick Senquez Golson could force Gay back on the outside. Golson, who played the boundary in college, is open to playing in the slot for the Steelers this year.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler believes that at some point, Golson will be on the field, whether as the team's starting nickel cornerback or as a backup. But that also means the Steelers will have to figure out what to do with Antwon Blake and Cortez Allen. Blake is best suited to work on the outside, as is Allen. 

But Allen is trying to rebuild his shattered confidence and regain the fundamentals he lost last year. On the heels of a lucrative contract extension, Allen found himself demoted and then benched due to poor play. He's been working hard with defensive backs coach Carnell Lake to return to his old form, but if he doesn't do so quickly, the Steelers won't be patient with him.

They simply have too many cornerbacks on the roster to name an on-field liability a starter.

Those other cornerbacks include Kevin Fogg, who reminds the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Mark Kaboly of Blake in that he's a formerly undrafted player who "has done enough in the spring to show he has the talent to stick," and B.W. Webb, who has become an important special teams player for the Steelers.

There's also the matter of rookie Doran Grant to consider, though based on the depth chart, he may be a practice squad player this year.

It's not just that Allen, Gay, Golson, Blake and, in all likelihood, Fogg, are battling for playing time. The Steelers' coaching staff also needs to figure out where each of these cornerbacks fits on the field. Training camp and the preseason should yield more clarity on these battles.