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Heading into the 2021 NFL regular season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have a daunting schedule and to the media at large, a lot of question marks after the poor finish and dismal playoff game. Fortunately, they will also have a number of changes to the areas of weakness that hit them down the stretch in 2020. These players might make, or break, the Steelers season:
It was obvious the Steelers defense had not been the same since the career-ending injury to Ryan Shazier. As the league has placed more emphasis on speed and agility from ILBs and Shazier was evolving into an elite game-changing ILB, it was clear that an impact ILB prospect wasn’t going to drop to 26th overall, so the trade to move up to 10th overall to select Devin Bush was a clear statement from the organization.
Bush had a quality rookie year with some outstanding games, despite some unrealistic expectations that he would perform at the standard Shazier reached. But higher expectations are justified in 2021 and nothing less than a Pro Bowl caliber season from Bush will do. He will need to wreak havoc over the field and 100 tackles are a minimum. He’s likely going to have to get 3-4 sacks, but more important will be double digit TFL and somewhere in the realm of 6-8 turnovers, combining FF, FR, and INTs.
Ben Roethlisberger is an all-time great, but he isn’t going to carry the Steelers to a title by himself. The Roethlisberger-era Steelers have always been more successful when using a balanced offense. They have never won a playoff game when Big Ben has thrown for more than 300 yards, have a 4-15 record when he’s thrown for more than 383 yards, and went 0-2 despite Roethlisberger setting team post-season records for single game passing yards. Contrast that to Le’Veon Bell setting consecutive single game rushing records and it was the last time the Steelers reached the AFC Championship.
Najee Harris was the #1 RB prospect and history has proven that no position makes an impact more immediate than RB. Harris is going to be called upon to be elite immediately, make big plays and some special ones too. Quite frankly, he needs to produce like Bell was able to. At minimum, he needs to have a 1,200-yard season with at least five 100-yard games. 10 TDs should be a requirement, but as long as they convert with another RB on short yardage situations, that works as well.
There’s not a lot of film to look at with Zach Banner as a starter, but he dominated in Week 1 vs. the New York Giants, he was a monster. He played nearly 30% of the snaps in 2019 and looked solid. He might feel like a bigger question mark than he really is, but it’s a chance for him to do what Ramon Foster and Alejandro Villanueva did before him – take over as an unheralded starter — and own the RT position. He’s massive and has been in the league for enough years to know the ropes, he could be the key to the entire OL success.
OLB on 31 NFL teams is a position. In the Steelers defense, it’s the crucial position. When it is performed to a high standard, the Steelers defense typically is a #1 overall ranked defense. When it is not, the defense struggles. Alex Highsmith was drafted specifically with the anticipation that Bud Dupree was leaving via FA. Highsmith can have a “good” year by most teams’ OLB or EDGE standards and it may not suffice. Highsmith has to perform at a high level and get at least 9 sacks along with consistent pressure. If he can do this, the Steelers can play more cover 2 and protect an inexperienced secondary with more double coverage. It’s not a coincidence that the Steelers got their best CB play in years in 2019-2020 – it’s because schematically they often used their OLBs as stand-up DE and effectively played a 4-3 hybrid. A successful year from Highsmith is arguably the most important of anyone on the defense.
The Steelers offense is bound to look different in 2021, and if there is a position they are loaded at, it is WR. Roethlisberger has a comfortable and trusted connection with JuJu Smith-Schuster, who was obviously his go-to man in 2020 as he led the team with 97 receptions. Smith-Schuster lined up in the slot frequently and was counted on to get the tough yards, but there is a reality of chemistry here. Smith-Schuster is unlikely to return in 2022 and his motivation of getting a large contract is not going to be helped with a yards/catch nearly 5 yards lower than his career average.
Chase Claypool is one of the reasons Smith-Schuster is not expected to return and when the Steelers offense was clicking – he was impacting. He may have to use his size and play inside more, catch more tough balls and bring that explosion that he has. His 2020 numbers were great, but not consistent. If he can impact on a consistent basis and hit 1,000 yards with close to 10 total TDs, the Steelers offense will have a dynamic weapon that other teams cannot account for.
Any other key players you think are critical? Leave a comment below.
#SteelerNation
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1. Devin Bush
It was obvious the Steelers defense had not been the same since the career-ending injury to Ryan Shazier. As the league has placed more emphasis on speed and agility from ILBs and Shazier was evolving into an elite game-changing ILB, it was clear that an impact ILB prospect wasn’t going to drop to 26th overall, so the trade to move up to 10th overall to select Devin Bush was a clear statement from the organization.
Bush had a quality rookie year with some outstanding games, despite some unrealistic expectations that he would perform at the standard Shazier reached. But higher expectations are justified in 2021 and nothing less than a Pro Bowl caliber season from Bush will do. He will need to wreak havoc over the field and 100 tackles are a minimum. He’s likely going to have to get 3-4 sacks, but more important will be double digit TFL and somewhere in the realm of 6-8 turnovers, combining FF, FR, and INTs.
2. Najee Harris
Ben Roethlisberger is an all-time great, but he isn’t going to carry the Steelers to a title by himself. The Roethlisberger-era Steelers have always been more successful when using a balanced offense. They have never won a playoff game when Big Ben has thrown for more than 300 yards, have a 4-15 record when he’s thrown for more than 383 yards, and went 0-2 despite Roethlisberger setting team post-season records for single game passing yards. Contrast that to Le’Veon Bell setting consecutive single game rushing records and it was the last time the Steelers reached the AFC Championship.
Najee Harris was the #1 RB prospect and history has proven that no position makes an impact more immediate than RB. Harris is going to be called upon to be elite immediately, make big plays and some special ones too. Quite frankly, he needs to produce like Bell was able to. At minimum, he needs to have a 1,200-yard season with at least five 100-yard games. 10 TDs should be a requirement, but as long as they convert with another RB on short yardage situations, that works as well.
3. Zach Banner
There’s not a lot of film to look at with Zach Banner as a starter, but he dominated in Week 1 vs. the New York Giants, he was a monster. He played nearly 30% of the snaps in 2019 and looked solid. He might feel like a bigger question mark than he really is, but it’s a chance for him to do what Ramon Foster and Alejandro Villanueva did before him – take over as an unheralded starter — and own the RT position. He’s massive and has been in the league for enough years to know the ropes, he could be the key to the entire OL success.
4. Alex Highsmith
OLB on 31 NFL teams is a position. In the Steelers defense, it’s the crucial position. When it is performed to a high standard, the Steelers defense typically is a #1 overall ranked defense. When it is not, the defense struggles. Alex Highsmith was drafted specifically with the anticipation that Bud Dupree was leaving via FA. Highsmith can have a “good” year by most teams’ OLB or EDGE standards and it may not suffice. Highsmith has to perform at a high level and get at least 9 sacks along with consistent pressure. If he can do this, the Steelers can play more cover 2 and protect an inexperienced secondary with more double coverage. It’s not a coincidence that the Steelers got their best CB play in years in 2019-2020 – it’s because schematically they often used their OLBs as stand-up DE and effectively played a 4-3 hybrid. A successful year from Highsmith is arguably the most important of anyone on the defense.
5. Chase Claypool
The Steelers offense is bound to look different in 2021, and if there is a position they are loaded at, it is WR. Roethlisberger has a comfortable and trusted connection with JuJu Smith-Schuster, who was obviously his go-to man in 2020 as he led the team with 97 receptions. Smith-Schuster lined up in the slot frequently and was counted on to get the tough yards, but there is a reality of chemistry here. Smith-Schuster is unlikely to return in 2022 and his motivation of getting a large contract is not going to be helped with a yards/catch nearly 5 yards lower than his career average.
Chase Claypool is one of the reasons Smith-Schuster is not expected to return and when the Steelers offense was clicking – he was impacting. He may have to use his size and play inside more, catch more tough balls and bring that explosion that he has. His 2020 numbers were great, but not consistent. If he can impact on a consistent basis and hit 1,000 yards with close to 10 total TDs, the Steelers offense will have a dynamic weapon that other teams cannot account for.
Any other key players you think are critical? Leave a comment below.
#SteelerNation
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
