The head coach of the Steelers, Mike Tomlin, was confirmed
Earlier this morning, steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was confirmed
In 2023, the Pittsburgh Steelers enjoyed another successful season and made it back to the postseason following a one-year hiatus. Still, it’s difficult to declare Pittsburgh’s campaign to have been a success.
The Steelers were eliminated from the playoffs in the wild-card round after finishing third in the AFC North. Now, Pittsburgh has gone seven seasons without winning a postseason game.
The Steelers can improve even though they have a $12.3 million cap shortfall and will not select until slot No. 20 in the April draft. By appointing former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith as their new offensive coordinator, Pittsburgh has already made a big move.
We’ll go over the main objectives that Pittsburgh needs to fulfill in order to have a productive 2024 offseason here.
Introduce QB Rivalry
Kenny Pickett, a first-round pick in 2022, hasn’t developed enough for Pittsburgh to feel confident starting him as quarterback in Week 1 of the following season. Had the Steelers been convinced of Pickett’s worth, they wouldn’t have continued to use Mason Rudolph when Pickett recovered sufficiently from his ankle injury from the previous campaign.
Pittsburgh has to add quarterback competition, and there are several ways it could accomplish it. It might re-sign Rudolph, who the team views as a priority, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, or bring in a journeyman to put pressure on Pickett during training camp, such as Tyrod Taylor or Jacoby Brissett.
The Steelers might also try to sign a better player, someone who has a better chance of starting over Pickett.
The latter option can entail focusing on a draft prospect such as Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy or LSU’s Jayden Daniels. A seasoned quarterback like Baker Mayfield, Kirk Cousins, Ryan Tannehill, or possible trade target Justin Fields may also be the objective.
Fields may be of special interest to head coach Mike Tomlin, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
“Justin Fields is a huge fan of Mike Tomlin’s.” In the upcoming weeks and offseason, we’ll bear that in mind,” Schefter stated on The Pat McAfee Show (via Ryan Taylor of NBC Sports Chicago).
It is not something Pittsburgh can afford to do when Pickett is the undisputed starter in 2024.
Visit Left Tackle to Find an Upgrade
The Steelers should seriously consider drafting a top offensive tackle in the first round if they decide not to target a quarterback. After establishing himself as the right side’s starter, rookie Broderick Jones gave the offensive line a boost, but tackle Dan Moore Jr. was let down once more.
According to Pro Football Focus, Moore was in charge of three penalties and eight sacks given up during the previous campaign.
The Steelers should think about advancing if a left tackle prospect like Joe Alt of Notre Dame or Olumuyiwa Fashanu of Penn State is not selected in the top 10. Pittsburgh may also consider moving Jones to the left side and going for a right tackle prospect like JC Latham of Alabama.
In addition to strengthening the Steelers’ line, either option might provide Pittsburgh with bookend tackles going forward.
Though a veteran like Mike Onwenu may still allow Jones to go to left tackle, the tackle position is unfortunately not as loaded on the free agent market.
The Steelers need to figure out how to get better on their own if they want to have a successful offseason. In addition to helping whichever quarterback is behind center, this will improve the ground game, which finished last season with just the 19th-most yards per carry.
