Steelers 2025-2026 recap and grades

[FordFairLane]

Quarterback-

Aaron did almost exactly as predicted by me. Solid, consistent, 3:1 int ratio. I believe I predicted 3500 yards 25:10. He ended up missing a game and had 3322 yards 24:7.

Solid performance in my opinion. Not a lot of weapons to work with and a very vanilla and predictable offense. I don’t think he retires but I don’t think he’s coming back either.

Running back-
Getting rid of Najee was a fabulous decision. Drafting Johnson was a horrible decision. I did not like the pick going into the season and like it less.
Warren is probably a little overpaid but I think part time of that is what he did when he was drastically underpaid.
Loved the Gainwell addition and he exceeded expectations. Best player on offense imo. I would try to get him back on a 2-3 year deal in that 10-20 million range.

Wide receiver-
DK is just trash. He couldn’t catch herpes in a whorehouse. He would have made a phenomenal WR2 to GP. Maybe with a receiver who doesn’t drop 2 huge plays we might have had a chance last night.
CA3 is what I said when we drafted him. A return man and a backend wide receiver.
Scotty and Adam imo were the best receivers on the team and Tomlin just had them be rotational guys.
Skoronek is vastly underrated. Best special teams player, best WR blocker, and the few opportunities he ran routes his win percentage was very good.

Tight Ends-
Darnell Washington has been a pleasant surprise. I knew he would be a dominant blocker but his receiving skills really were an awesome addition.
Freiermuth was drastically underutilized.
Smith can go.
Conner can go or take a small contract to stay.

OL-
I had high hopes for Jones but has not panned out. Cook I loved in preseason and really showed up. I would roll with him at LT next season.
Fautanu needs to kick in at guard. He’s a serviceable tackle but would be all pro at guard.
Frazier is a dog.
McCormick is a road grader.

Defense next.

 

[FordFairLane]

DL
Heyward played up to the contract we gave him. Benton had his moments. Black was a pleasant surprise. Not a ton of pass rush but good run defense. Derrick Harmon arrow is pointing up. Logan Lee had limited snaps but he was good at pressuring the qb and batting down balls in his limited playing time.

I honestly would trade Cam at this point. Not until the season is on its way and a week or so before the trade deadline. And I would trade him to a contender. Give him an opportunity to win a ring.

Edge-
I did not like the TJ contract. I would have moved on from him and tried to get a first or a couple day two picks. Herbig had been coming on strong and Highsmith is still solid. So now we can’t move on really. Maybe trade him like Heyward before the deadline and eat a ton of cap next year. But he would have to come out on fire to get his value up.

Herbig is probably the best pass rusher we have. Sawyer came on strong. Highsmith is very solid and above average. Probably the deepest position we have.

ILB-
Queen is probably expendable with how Wilson has played. Harrison and Wilson can hold it down with maybe a draft pick and a free agent signing.

CB/S
Porter and Echols played very well for us. Ramsey did not show up the last few weeks and not at all in the playoffs. A guy we can’t trade or cut too. Pierre in my opinion should be resigned. Very good depth piece who can start when called upon. Still need an outside corner across from JPJ.

Special Teams-
Bos is a stud.
Corliss should get a contract

 

[Frosty]

"Frazier is a dog."

Rodgers said in his presser the team needs to sign him long term.

 

[BLITZ]

Quarterback-

Aaron did almost exactly as predicted by me. Solid, consistent, 3:1 int ratio. I believe I predicted 3500 yards 25:10. He ended up missing a game and had 3322 yards 24:7.

Solid performance in my opinion. Not a lot of weapons to work with and a very vanilla and predictable offense. I don’t think he retires but I don’t think he’s coming back either.

Running back-
Getting rid of Najee was a fabulous decision. Drafting Johnson was a horrible decision. I did not like the pick going into the season and like it less.
Warren is probably a little overpaid but I think part time of that is what he did when he was drastically underpaid.
Loved the Gainwell addition and he exceeded expectations. Best player on offense imo. I would try to get him back on a 2-3 year deal in that 10-20 million range.

Wide receiver-
DK is just trash. He couldn’t catch herpes in a whorehouse. He would have made a phenomenal WR2 to GP. Maybe with a receiver who doesn’t drop 2 huge plays we might have had a chance last night.
CA3 is what I said when we drafted him. A return man and a backend wide receiver.
Scotty and Adam imo were the best receivers on the team and Tomlin just had them be rotational guys.
Skoronek is vastly underrated. Best special teams player, best WR blocker, and the few opportunities he ran routes his win percentage was very good.

Tight Ends-
Darnell Washington has been a pleasant surprise. I knew he would be a dominant blocker but his receiving skills really were an awesome addition.
Freiermuth was drastically underutilized.
Smith can go.
Conner can go or take a small contract to stay.

OL-
I had high hopes for Jones but has not panned out. Cook I loved in preseason and really showed up. I would roll with him at LT next season.
Fautanu needs to kick in at guard. He’s a serviceable tackle but would be all pro at guard.
Frazier is a dog.
McCormick is a road grader.

Defense next.

Think the recap and grades is missing grades. But nice recap

 

[TDX27]

Theilen played like he should have been our WR2. I can easily see a scenario where they bring him back for a minimum cap hit and have him as our WR3. Even at his age, the dude still gets open, and he was running pretty good routes even shortly after he arrived. The dude is just a good football player.

 

[SteelerFan448]

Quarterback-B
-As you said, Rodgers met expectations. Given his age and supporting cast, he was fine. If the defense lived up to its hype, the team should've finished with a better record, but still would've had the same result in the playoffs.

Running back-A-
-Warren and Gainwell were really good--the best two players on offense. Warren's advanced metrics in certain areas such as forced missed tackles was excellent. Gainwell stood out enough to earn team MVP. Definitely a more dynamic backfield than what we had the past few seasons.

Wide receiver-D
Just bad. Gerat call on Skoronek.

Tight Ends-B-
You hit the nail on the head. Washington was better than expected. The coaches' usage of Freiermuth was a joke. Jonnu Smith had the worst usage of any team in the league. Not even blaming him for that, just an embarrassment how they used him and at the expense of a better player.

OL-B-
This group progressed nicely. Pass pro was solid, run blocking needs a mean streak.

DL-B-
Heyward didn't earn any of his incentives from the contract holdout, but was still at an All-Pro level. Benton improved over the second half of the season and Harmon was good against the run. You could see moments where his hand usage is much improved. This unit needs one more Day 1 or 2 addition.

EDGE-B-
Watt wasn't an elite playmaker. It appears as though his days of winning one-on-one matchups and dominating games is over. Highsmith was our best EDGE defender this season, especially down the stretch. Herbig saw limited sacks for some reason, despite being our best pass rusher. Sawyer had a knack for making plays and showed some signs of life rushing the QB. Not bad for an athletically limited LBer.

ILB-C-
Just couldn't figure this group out with so many ups and downs throughout the season.

CB-A
JPJ played at a Pro-Bowl level while Pierre was terrific late in the season when he had to step in. Echols was solid basically the entire season. This group ended up being pretty good as expected.

S-D
Just a rash of injuries crushed this group, but so many mistakes. I'd start from scratch with this group, outside of Elliott.


Special Teams-B
Shaky compared to previous years. Boswell missed some difficult FGs, but still is one of the best. Kuntz wasn't as sharp as usual. Waitman had some rough punts in December. Skoronek and Bruener were really good in coverage.