Pittsburgh Steelers 2019 Season Preview
Chris Ransom follow @DraftUtopia Posted on 7/25/2019.
Pittsburgh Steelers Free Agency Recap
Pittsburgh didn't do much in Free Agency. Pittsburgh got Donte Moncrief as a wide receiver to replace Antonio Brown who the Steelers traded to the Oakland Raiders. Former Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Steven Nelson is the new boundary cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Pittsburgh Steelers Draft Recap
The Steelers got a 3-4 middle linebacker in Devin Bush that will start right away. Pittsburgh traded up from 20 to 10 to select Michigan's team captain in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback Summary: Ben Roethlisberger is the starting quarterback on Pittsburgh. Josh Dobbs and Mason Rudolph are competing for the backup job once again. Dobbs beat out Rudolph for the backup job last year, but Rudolph has jumped Dobbs on the depth chart with both quarterbacks expected to compete for the backup quarterback job once again in 2019. Randy Fichtner enters his second season as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. Fitchner did well in his first year without Le'Veon Bell and now he will have to adapt without Antonio Brown.
Pittsburgh Steelers Running Back Summary: James Conner is the starting running back. Conner had 973 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns on 215 carries. Pittsburgh also has Jaylen Samuels their 2018 fifth round pick who ran for 100 rushing yards versus the New England Patriots as their backup along with Kentucky rookie Bennie Snell Jr. who was once my top graded running back in the 2019 NFL Draft as a third string running back.
Eddie Faulkner, the new running backs coach who also coached fullbacks and tight ends at North Carolina State coached Jaylen Samuels when he was at North Carolina State prior to Pittsburgh drafting him. Faulkner has a good group of running backs to work with as Pittsburgh has incredible depth in their backfield despite the departure of Le'Veon Bell.
Pittsburgh Steelers Wide Receiver Summary: JuJu Smith-Schuster showed qualities of a future number one receiver when he played next to Antonio Brown. Now Smith-Schuster transitions from the secondary wide receiver role to the flanker receiver becoming Big Ben's go-to-guy. The secondary wide receiver job appears to be a competition between Donte Moncrief, Eli Rogers, and James Washington. Diontae Johnson and Ryan Switzer will be resesrves at wide receiver. Offensive coordinator Randy Fitchner who knows how to develop wide receivers. Daryl Drake enters his second season as a wide receivers coach. Pittsburgh's offense did well under Fitchner, but its pretty evident that Fitchner's ceiling is that of an offensive coordinator and that he's not a future head coach after seeing Pittsburgh's offense decline in 2018. Drake also appears to be a downgrade as the wide receivers caoch. We will find out how good Drake can be without Antonio Brown since these receivers will be tested.
Pittsburgh Steelers Tight End Summary: Vance McDonald is a good starting tight end. His complimentary tight end Jesse James is gone. Xavier Grimble is a serviceable number two tight end who can fill in for McDonald. Pittsburgh also added Michigan tight end Zach Gentry for depth. James Daniel was Pittsburgh's tight ends coach, a year before the Steelers drafted Heath Miller in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft which was a long time ago. My point is with Daniel coaching these tight ends there is continuity there.
Pittsburgh Steelers Offensive Line Summary: Pittsburgh has Alejandro Villanueva at left tackle, Ramon Foster at left guard, Maurkice Pouncey at center, David DeCastro at right guard, and Matt Feiler at right tackle. Chukwuma Okorafor is a remains the swing tackle. Okorafor is listed as the backup left tackle for a second year in a row. At the same time, Okorafor played both offensive tackle spots at Western Michigan making him a swing tacke and the number three offensive tackle on the depth chart. The same could be said for backup right tackle Jerald Hawkins who has experience at both offensive tackle roles.
Offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett worked under Mike Munchak for six years while helping the Steelers get game film for their opponents. He takes over for Munchak, having just as much depth. I feel as if Sarrett could be a better offensive line coach then Munchak just because he got Pittsburgh's offensive coaching staff game film to prepare him for this role. I also feel like Sarrett could really struggle if Feiler ends up being a liability at right tackle this season. So how this offensive line clicks with a weakness at right tackle will really say a lot.
The Steelers are a team that could be a top 15 offense in points scored, total yards allowed, passing yards allowed, and rushing yards allowed. If Pittsburgh still had Bell and Brown you could make an arguement that this is a top 5 offense. This is now a top 15 offense which could be a top 10 offense if Feiler is good. If all of the other offensive tackles outside of Villanueva suck, then Pittsburgh could end up being a top 20 offense that seriously regresses.
This is probably Pittsburgh's worst offensive team since 1969 when they went 1-13. At the same time, this team will win at least 7 games minimum as long as Ben Roethlisberger is healthy for all 16 games even if the rest of the offense sucks without Bell, Brown, or a quality right tackle.
Pittsburgh Steelers Defensive Line Summary: Pittsburgh has Stephon Tuitt at 3-4 right end and Cameron Heyward at 3-4 left end. Javon Hargrave is the Steelers starting nose tackle.
John Mitchell was the Steelers defensive line coach. He's also the assistant head coach making him interim head coach if Mike Tomlin got fired during the regular season. Mitchell is now the full time assistant head coach despite having experience as the defensive line coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers for 25 years. Also Karl Dunbar enters his second season as the defensive line coach.
Pittsburgh Steelers Linebacker Summary: The Steelers have quite the depth at 3-4 outside linebacker. T.J. Watt is the teams starting 3-4 right outside linebacker. Bud Dupree starts at 3-4 left outside linebacker with Arthur Moats as a backup for depth. Vince Williams and Devin Bush are the starting 3-4 middle linebackers on Pittsburgh with Ryan Shazier injured once again as Tyler Matakevich moves to a depth role. Keith Butler developed both outside linebackers and inside linebackers for years before succeeding Dick LeBeau as defensive coordinator. Jerry Olsavsky is the new linebackers coach replacing Joey Porter. Olsavsky specializes in inside linebackers more then outside linebackers. Pittsburgh dominated as a pass rushing team, but their run defense struggled under Porter. With Olsavsky, I feel as though the run defense will be a strength for the Steelers once again, while the pass rush takes a decline unless Dupree and Watt both get double digit sacks. If Watt and Dupree both get double digit sacks, then Pittsburgh could easily challenge any team in the AFC if their offense can execute.
Pittsburgh Steelers Defensive Backs Summary: Pittsburgh has Joe Haden as the #1 field cornerback with Steven Nelson at the boundary across from him. Mike Hilton is the nickel cornerback. The fact that Artie Burns and Cameron Sutton both got demoted to backup roles makes them liabilities. These corners could thrive in dime and quarter roles. Pittsburgh also drafted Michigan State cornerback Justin Layne who has excellent speed and zone coverage. Layne is mainly a zone cover corner who needs to improve his man and press coverage which he will have all the time in the world to do given Pittsburgh's abundance of cornerbacks.
The safety tandem of Sean Davis and Terrell Edmunds is suspect. Davis is better then I thought he'd be, but not great. Edmunds was a safety I had a fifth round grade on in the 2018 NFL Draft. Now he's starting at safety which is why I think the safety play will be a the biggest weakness on this defense. Tom Bradley enters his second season as the defensive backs coach.
Pittsburgh should be a top 15 defense in sacks. If Watt and Dupree hit double digit sacks then this can be a top 5 defense. I see a team that will have a top 10 defense in points allowed and passing yards allowed. Their run defense could end up improving in 2019.
Pittsburgh Steelers Special Teams Summary: Kicker Chris Boswell and punter Jordan Berry did a good job stepping in for Pittsburgh. Ryan Switzer is the kick returner and the punt returner for Pittsburgh. Danny Smith continues to thrive as a special teams coordinator. His last two seasons as special teams coordinator have been nothing short of spectacular.
Pittsburgh Steelers Worst Case Scenario: The Pittsburgh Steelers go 10-6. They end up missing the final wild card once again for a second year in a row.
Pittsburgh Steelers Best Case Scenario: Pittsburgh manages to go 12-4. They end up getting the second best record in the AFC behind the New England Patriots.
Pittsburgh Steelers 2019 NFL Schedule
Week |
Date |
Opponent |
Time |
Cable Network |
Result |
Week 1 |
September 8 |
AT  |
8:20 PM EST |
NBC |
L |
Week 2 |
September 15 |
VS  |
1 PM EST |
CBS |
W |
Week 3 |
September 22 |
AT  |
4:25 PM EST |
CBS |
L |
Week 4 |
September 30 |
VS  |
8:15 PM EST |
ESPN |
W |
Week 5 |
October 6 |
VS  |
1 PM EST |
CBS |
W |
Week 6 |
October 13 |
AT  |
8:20 PM EST |
NBC |
W |
Week 7 |
|
Bye Week |
|
|
|
Week 8 |
October 28 |
VS  |
8:15 PM EST |
ESPN |
W |
Week 9 |
November 3 |
VS  |
1 PM EST |
CBS |
W |
Week 10 |
November 10 |
VS  |
4:25 PM EST |
FOX |
W |
Week 11 |
November 14 |
AT  |
8:25 PM EST |
FOX |
L |
Week 12 |
November 24 |
AT |
1 PM EST |
CBS |
W |
Week 13 |
December 1 |
VS |
1 PM EST |
CBS |
L |
Week 14 |
December 8 |
AT  |
4:25 PM EST |
CBS |
W |
Week 15 |
December 15 |
VS  |
1 PM EST |
CBS |
W |
Week 16 |
December 22 |
AT  |
1 PM EST |
CBS |
L |
Week 17 |
December 29 |
AT |
1 PM EST |
CBS |
L |
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