TEAM OVERVIEW
Strengths: The Steelers are one of the few teams in the league that can boast difference-makers at all three levels of the defense. Defensive end Cam Heyward is a perennial Pro Bowler and — entering his 12th season — may be mounting a fringe Hall of Fame candidacy. OLB T.J. Watt (right) is maybe the best edge rusher in the NFL and is coming off a season in which he won the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award after tying a league record with 22 ½ sacks. Pittsburgh made S Minkah Fitzpatrick a very rich man in the offseason and he seems intent on making sure he proves he’s worth every penny.
Weaknesses: For the first time in nearly 20 years, the Steelers enter the season with uncertainty at quarterback. Ben Roethlisberger is off into retirement and it seems as if Mitch Trubisky will be given the first chance at replacing a franchise icon. How Trubisky fares will play a major factor into when — not if — first-round pick Kenny Pickett gets a chance to show his breakout season last fall for the University of Pittsburgh is not a fluke. And for all the star power on defense, there are serious depth concerns along the defensive line and at linebacker. Expectations: The Steelers enter the post-Roethlisberger era as somewhat of an unknown. Can Trubisky play well after flaming out in Chicago and spending last season as Josh Allen’s backup in Buffalo? Was Pickett’s insurgent Heisman Trophy candidacy at Pitt last fall a mirage? Can the retooled offensive line be effective enough to let whoever the quarterback is do his job effectively? Can the defense not get run over against quality competition? Mke Tomlin has never had a losing season in 15 years. He’s embracing the challenge of trying to prove his success wasn’t entirely dependent on Roethlisberger.