What Is the Steelers Biggest Challenge Heading Into This Season?
Eric Edholm of NFL.com recently wrote an article outlining the No. 1 challenge facing each team heading into the 2024 season. In regards to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Edholm is skeptical about the offense, especially at quarterback and wide receiver.
“Russell Wilson and Justin Fields are a decade apart in age, but they’re both at a career crossroads. How Pittsburgh plans to use the two signal-callers will be fascinating. Is Wilson the clear Week 1 starter? Is there a Fields package in the offense? Will Fields fully usurp Wilson at some point? That all remains to be seen,” Edholm wrote. “If there is a Fields package, it’ll be run by new Steelers OC Arthur Smith, whose handling of the Falcons’ quarterbacks over the past few years was suboptimal, even if the QB talent in Atlanta was lacking. Smith also must contend with OL changes and a WR corps that lost one of its big playmakers when Diontae Johnson was traded to Carolina. Mike Tomlin played quarterback roulette last year and lost, despite Pittsburgh making the playoffs. The AFC North is a bear. How the offense materializes is the obvious, No. 1 issue for this team right now.”
Edholm is right that the Steelers probably should have had a better plan for when they traded Diontae Johnson earlier this offseason. The wide receiver corps could be their downfall this season. It’s just not a very good group on paper.
Warren Sharp of Sharp Football ranked the Steelers’ wide receivers group as the third-worst in the NFL. Only the Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots receiving corps were lower.
“George Pickens has the talent to elevate the Steelers’ pass catchers if he fully lives up to his potential, but he needs to become more consistent,” Sharp wrote. “Pickens ranked 25th out of 46 qualified wide receivers in catch rate on catchable targets at 10 or more yards downfield last year.”
Determining an offensive identity for the Steelers is a major concern for many analyst. The Steelers should have a strong running game under new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, but Louis Riddick of ESPN is worried about the passing game. He’s just not sure if Pittsburgh can keep up with the elite offenses in the NFL.
“The Pittsburgh offense’s ability to create explosive plays in the pass game is an ongoing issue, and finishing 26th in the NFL in plays of 20-plus yards in 2023 did nothing to lessen the worry. After hiring Arthur Smith as their offensive coordinator, making additions along the offensive line (Troy Fautanu and Zach Frazier) and overhauling the QB room (by adding Russell Wilson and Justin Fields), my concerns are not as great as they were last summer, but for this franchise to achieve elite status again, it must be able to match the best offenses in the league blow for blow,” Riddick wrote.
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