Pittsburgh Steelers: Grading the Strength of Every Position Before Camps Begin
The Pittsburgh Steelers open their training camp on Saturday, which will mark the beginning of the end of their offseason preparations.
The roster will eventually be pared down to 53 men and the depth chart assembled as a result of what happens in the coming weeks and in the team's five preseason games. But before that begins, let's take a look at each of the Steelers' position groups and grade them based upon how strong they seem at this point in the summer.
Quarterback
1 of 10
When it comes to the Steelers' starting quarterback position, they are as set as a team can be. Ben Roethlisberger is fully entrenched as the leader of the offense and is coming off of the best season of his career. In an offense that is tailored to his strengths, he's been allowed to shine.
But behind him, things are less clear. Bruce Gradkowski seems set to reprise his role as the Steelers' No. 2 quarterback, while Landry Jones and Tajh Boyd will battle it out for the No. 3 job. Quarterbacks-slash-receivers Tyler Murphy and Devin Gardner could also challenge Jones and Boyd for the job.
It cannot be denied that Roethlisberger is one of the top quarterbacks in the league right now. But it also cannot be denied that there is a major drop-off in talent behind him on the depth chart. If something happens to Roethlisberger, it will be hard for the Steelers to recapture the magic of the 2014 season with anyone else under center.
Grade: B
Running Back
2 of 10
Like at quarterback, there's a lot to like about the top of the Steelers' running back depth chart. It is led by Le'Veon Bell, who not only rushed for over 1,300 yards last year, but also added 854 receiving yards to his total.
Behind him is DeAngelo Williams, a 10-year veteran who will also be tasked with being the team's starter during the first three games of the season while Bell is sidelined with a suspension. Williams is a proven NFL commodity, but at 32 years old, he may not be as trustworthy as he used to be to handle a full season's load of carries. There could be problems should Bell miss more than three games for any reason this year.
The depth behind Bell and Williams isn't all that proven. There is Dri Archer, who had only 40 yards on his 10 carries in his rookie season last year, and Josh Harris, who rushed nine times for 16 yards in 2014. They are joined by undrafted rookies Ross Scheuerman and Cameron Stingily; their true talent won't be seen until they get carries in the preseason.
Bell and Williams are a formidable duo, but there isn't much to the depth chart behind them. The Steelers will need the pair to stay healthy this year in order to continue to successfully run the ball.
Grade: B
Wide Receiver
3 of 10
There are absolutely no questions about the Steelers' receiving corps. It is perhaps unrivaled in the NFL presently. The Steelers have the league's leading receiver from 2014, Antonio Brown, as well as slot receiver Markus Wheaton. They also boast one of last season's breakout stars, Martavis Bryant, who totaled 549 yards and eight touchdowns on 26 receptions after sitting out the first six weeks of the year.
The Steelers also picked up a Bryant clone in Round 3 of the 2015 draft in Sammie Coates, who could be a late-season impact player for the team this year as Bryant was in 2014. And there are the slashers—former quarterbacks-turned-hybrid receivers Tyler Murphy and Devin Gardner, who could add a level of intrigue to what is already a high-powered Steelers passing offense.
Pittsburgh has nothing to worry about at the receiver position this year; meanwhile, any defense set to face it in 2015 has a world of problems to concern itself with when it comes to stopping Brown, Bryant, Wheaton and even Coates.
Grade: A+
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Tight End
4 of 10
At tight end, the Steelers are very well-rounded this year. Heath Miller will still be their do-it-all starter, while Matt Spaeth handles blocking duties while seeing perhaps a pass or three thrown his way. Rookie Jesse James should see time this year spelling Miller while he's groomed to someday replace the veteran.
Undrafted rookie Cameron Clear has been an offseason standout to coordinator Todd Haley, which could mean that Rob Blanchflower is on the outside of the roster looking in this year. But regardless of who may serve as the Steelers' No. 4 reserve tight end, they are set when it comes to the trio who are likely to see the most playing time this year.
Grade: A
Offensive Line
5 of 10
For the first time in a long time, the Steelers' offensive line was mostly healthy for the majority of the 2014 season. And, not coincidentally, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was sacked just 33 times—the fewest times he's been taken down when completing a full, 16-game season. Pro Football Focus ranked the Steelers' 2014 line seventh in the league in pass-blocking.
The line finally mastered the zone-blocking scheme of coach Mike Munchak, and it paid off to the tune of 1,361 rushing yards for running back Le'Veon Bell last year.
It's fair to say that the Steelers have a line that suits their style of offense. Led by center Maurkice Pouncey and radiating out to guards David DeCastro and Ramon Foster and tackles Marcus Gilbert and Kelvin Beachum, it may not be the most celebrated offensive line, but it gets the job done for the Steelers.
Grade: B
Defensive Line
6 of 10
Without question, the shining star of the Steelers' defensive line is end Cameron Heyward. Heyward tied for the team's highest sack total in 2014 with 7.5, and he emerged as Pro Football Focus' sixth-ranked 3-4 defensive end mainly because he was so disruptive in the passing game.
The rest of the line, though, is full of questions. It is presumed that 2014 second-round draft pick Stephon Tuitt will start alongside Heyward after finishing out the team's final five games last year as the starter. Steve McLendon—returning from offseason shoulder surgery—looks like he may be splitting time at nose tackle with Daniel McCullers, who played only 65 snaps in his rookie year.
There isn't a lot of depth on the roster, either, something that may force the Steelers to keep disappointing defensive end Cam Thomas on the team for 2015. There is Clifton Geathers, though, and if someone like Joe Kruger, L.T. Walton or Matt Conrath can step up this summer, they may no longer have a need for Thomas.
Grade: B-
Linebacker
7 of 10
At outside linebacker, it's easy to know which Steelers players will factor in the most this year—James Harrison, Jarvis Jones, Arthur Moats and rookie Bud Dupree. How and when they will be used, though, is something that won't be determined until training camp and the preseason are well underway.
The inside linebacker position, meanwhile, seems to be set. Lawrence Timmons will remain a starter and a leader on defense. Second-year player Ryan Shazier looks poised to recapture the starting job he lost to injury last year. Once he returned, he was in a three-man timeshare with Vince Williams and Sean Spence, but that doesn't appear to be the case this year.
Williams and Spence are valuable, experienced depth and won't be going anywhere. Backups at outside linebacker, meanwhile, could include Terence Garvin, Shawn Lemon or Howard Jones. The Steelers have a lot of linebacker depth, and though much of it is inexperienced, there is a lot of potential among the group.
Grade: B+
Cornerback
8 of 10
The Steelers have a question to answer about the cornerback position this summer: Who starts? Luckily, they have enough players on the roster to answer that question correctly. The most likely starters on the outside are William Gay and Antwon Blake, though both are capable of moving to the inside when needed.
Cortez Allen could also try to push Gay or Blake down the depth chart if he can bounce back this summer from a poor 2014 campaign. Meanwhile, Kevin Fogg has caught the eye of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Mark Kaboly, while defensive backs coach Carnell Lake has not ruled out the possibility of rookies Senquez Golson and Doran Grant cracking the starting lineup, per Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Either way, the Steelers will need to find the right combination of players to improve upon their 27th-ranked passing defense from 2014. They should have enough talent on the roster to do so, but it is true that many of these players are untested.
Grade: B-
Safety
9 of 10
It's a new era when it comes to the Steelers' safety position. Last year, Ryan Clark was replaced by Mike Mitchell, and this year, Shamarko Thomas will take the place of the retired Troy Polamalu.
Mitchell struggled in 2014. Though he had the second-highest tackle total on the team with 71 combined, he had just three passes defensed and no interceptions despite playing 977 snaps. He did play the whole year with two torn groin muscles that have since been surgically repaired, which could lead to a bounce-back season.
Thomas, meanwhile, played only two snaps on defense last year and dealt with repeated hamstring troubles. Thomas is confident he can perform at a high level, but it cannot be denied that he lacks experience playing in the Steelers defense.
There are some promising players behind Mitchell and Thomas on the Steelers' depth chart. These include ball-hawking rookie Gerod Holliman and special teams stalwarts Ross Ventrone and Robert Golden. Other intriguing safeties include Alden Darby, Jordan Dangerfield and Ian Wild.
The Steelers no longer boast big-name safeties. But they do have an impressive roster of young players who could make names for themselves in the coming years. That being said, it's hard to feel completely secure in Mitchell and Thomas as starters, simply because there's so much unknown about the two in 2015.
Grade: C
Special Teams
10 of 10
The Steelers are set at the kicker position this year, with Shaun Suisham keeping hold of the job for the sixth straight year. In 2014, Suisham made 90.6 percent of his field-goal attempts, including a long of 53 yards, and made all 45 of his extra-point conversions.
There will be a battle this summer, though, and it comes at the punter position. The Steelers brought in Jordan Berry in the offseason to compete with Brad Wing, who averaged just 43.7 yards per punt last year. This competition should continue well through the Steelers' five preseason games before they settle on a winner.
At punt returner, it appears that Antonio Brown will reprise his role for another year despite being so valuable to the offense. Still, Brown is a high-impact special teamer; in 2014, he returned 30 punts for 319 yards and a score.
The Steelers will need to figure out who their kick returner will be this year. Dri Archer appears to have the first crack at it, even though he was pulled from the job last season after returning nine kickoffs for 161 yards. But Markus Wheaton or even Devin Gardner or Tyler Murphy could be in the mix as well.
Grade: B
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