Paul Zeise: Steelers are as close to being a contender as they've been since 2017

Paul Zeise, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Jul 9, 2025

Published in Football

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PITTSBURGH — The Steelers seem to be finally done making moves for the 2025 season, so it is time to evaluate where they stand within the AFC.

It is true they are probably going to add another receiver before training camp or maybe before the season starts, but at this point, I don’t know how much that will change my thoughts about how good they can be. Another receiver would certainly help, but at this point, whomever they get is going to be another scrap-heap veteran type, and that isn’t going to dramatically alter the offense.

I, for one, do think the addition of Jalen Ramsey will help the Steelers secondary on some level but only if they are able to find a safety to replace Minkah Fitzpatrick. They also need to use Ramsey correctly, as his best skills are in coverage, and I don’t know that it would be out of line to have him cover the other team’s best receiver every week.

Ramsey and Joey Porter Jr. at corner will allow the Steelers to do a lot of different things with their coverages and also enable them to draw up some different blitzes, as well. I think that’s especially true because they have another veteran, Darius Slay Jr., to man the slot corner position.

They still have to solve the position left vacant by Fitzpatrick, but I think given what they asked him to do, there are some options on the roster to fill that void. I was always in the camp that Fitzpatrick’s impact on the defense was overrated and he was not worth the money they paid him, so I don’t view him as a big loss.

A key to the defense will be first-round pick Derrick Harmon, who I think will be an immediate impact player. Harmon has all the measurables and the mentality to be a premier run stopper in the NFL. He is a brawler, he is strong and athletic and he will give the Steelers an element up front they haven’t had (absent Cam Heyward) in a long time.

The defense has been billed as elite for years but hasn’t played like it in years, either. But I do think this unit has a chance to be one of the best in the AFC, if not the NFL, and while I don’t know if that will translate into elite, I don’t know that it has to be elite in order to give the Steelers a chance.

That’s mostly because I have been slowly but surely talking myself into the idea that Aaron Rodgers is going to be a much better version of himself than he was last year. And if that’s the case, the offense is going to be much, much more equipped to score points than it has been recently or since the days of the Killer B’s.

Rodgers is one element, but the other element is the offensive line, which should also be improved. It remains to be seen by how much, but the two tackle positions should be a lot more consistent after Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick have both settled in at center and guard, respectively.

The offensive line will be able to run block, and the defensive line will be able to stop the run. I know this sounds like 1970s football, as it is a passing league and all that, but most of the Steelers’ problems have stemmed from the fact they have been inconsistent up front on both sides of the ball. That shouldn’t be an issue this season, and I think those improvements alone will give the Steelers a better chance of succeeding in the playoffs.

I am not sure what impact Jonnu Smith will have, but I do believe it won’t be negligible as some would suggest. The Steelers offense will also get a boost from DK Metcalf, who is a better, less emotional version of George Pickens, so the passing game should improve, especially if Roman Wilson can show anything like he did at Michigan.

Often the question isn’t about how much a team improved but also what the teams around them that they are trying to beat have done. I still think the Ravens, Chiefs and Bills are the three best teams in the AFC, but I also think the Steelers have closed the gap on all of them.

I am not predicting a run to the AFC title game just yet, but I also am starting to believe the pieces are in place for that. For the last few years, I thought there was no way the Steelers could compete with the top teams in the AFC in the playoffs when it mattered, but I can at least listen to an argument for that right now.

In the end, I am probably still leaning toward, “This is going to end the same way it always ends these days,” and that is with a nine- or 10-win season and a first-round loss. I still think the roster is just a little too old and there are still just enough questions about it that the top teams in the AFC will still be too good for them when it counts.

But, for the first time in a lot of years, I can actually see a path for them to get to the AFC title game, and that is why this offseason has been so intriguing to me as they put together this roster.

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