Jason Mackey: Possibilities are endless for this Steelers defense

PITTSBURGH — Although the Steelers offense had one of its better practices of training camp Tuesday, the defense has still been fairly far ahead, much like pitchers compared to hitters at this stage in a baseball season.

But what if the pitching is just … good?

T.J. Watt first drew a baseball parallel when talking about his speed game aging, saying if you have a good fastball, you should keep throwing it for as long as possible — he’s right — and I’m starting to think the Steelers might just have an elite pitching staff.

In football terms, it’s a defense capable of creating splash plays — sacks, interceptions and more. At Saint Vincent College, confidence is growing that this group could be the most disruptive the Steelers have had in years, for reasons I’ll outline.

“With the moves we made, people can play multiple positions,” Patrick Queen told me after a spirited practice. “We have a bunch of versatility. The possibilities are endless for this defense.”

And welcomed, obviously.

The Steelers finished with just 40 sacks last season, tied for 16th in the NFL. It continues a trend in recent years; they were tied for 14th and are tied for 11th since 2022. Before that, the Steelers either led the NFL or tied for the top spot in five straight seasons.

There’s no excuse for this group finishing outside the top 10, and that should probably read top five. It’s that good. The Steelers are also deep on the edge, better up front and should be able to cover anyone thanks to the additions of Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay Jr.

That’s what Queen was talking about, as well as Watt occasionally flipping sides, a move that seems small on the surface but could actually matter a great deal here.

It’s also not one specific thing.

If the secondary sticks tight, it helps the pass rush. The opposing quarterback can’t have all day to throw because it’s impossible to blanket NFL receivers for that long.

In what has been another fascinating development, the Steelers also can’t telegraph what they’re doing, otherwise it’s a free opportunity to adjust.

“Rush and coverage go together,” Watt said. “We’ve said that from day one. Any time that they can give us an extra half a second or tenth of a second, it’s huge. Any time we can affect the quarterback will be huge for them as well.”

It’s one of the many reasons why I think this Steelers defense can make a sizable jump when it comes to things like sacks, pressuring quarterbacks and dropping opposing ball carriers for a loss, although it obviously wasn’t terrible last season.

It just wasn’t elite or what we’ve come to expect out of the Steelers: tied for ninth in quarterback hits (105) and 14th in tackles for loss (83).

That should change for a variety of reasons, starting with the Steelers disguising their blitzes and pressures and continuing with who’s rushing the quarterback.

Not being secretive enough seems to be a fair criticism of the 2024 Steelers, along with choosing to bring less pressure.

It’s only training camp, but it looks like we could see a change in that department, whether it’s Ramsey, DeShon Elliott or two athletic inside linebackers blitzing.

The more exotic the better, honestly.

“I feel like one of our biggest things is splash,” Wilson told me. “We get a lot of splash plays. As a linebacker group, we’ve been working on our blitz timing, how to roll in and the timing of all our pressures.”

Ironically because of one man, the 41-year-old story of the offseason who’s notoriously observant when it comes to the breadcrumbs he can gather on an offense’s tendencies.

“Especially when you’re going against Aaron [Rodgers], if you don’t disguise, he’ll pretty much know what you’re doing the second you line up,” Wilson continued. “You have to be really good with your disguises. Then your blitz timing has to be great.”

It’s early August, a couple days out from the first preseason game, so I certainly want to keep my seatbelt tight here. But there’s no reason the Steelers shouldn’t have a throwback, pressure-filled, identity-laden defense.

One that should align with how they’re spending money on that group, honestly.

If the Steelers can disguise blitzes, move him around and there’s enough ancillary pressure to detract from double teams, does anyone really think Watt will again finish with 11.5 sacks?

Alex Highsmith had a relatively down year in 2024 and should bounce back. The defensive line was Cam Heyward and … yeah, not much.

Derrick Harmon looks and sounds like a veteran. The Steelers are also taking advantage of Keeanu Benton’s versatility. Don’t be surprised if Yahya Black plays a bunch, at least in early/running downs.

And again, we haven’t even gotten to the strength here — the athletic corners and how defensive coordinator Teryl Austin chooses to deploy them.

It should look the way it used to.

“There’s been a lot of hard-nosed football around here, man,” Harmon said when I asked how he’s viewed Steelers defenses from afar. “A defense with some attitude … they compete at a high level. You gotta have that little edge to you to play on this defense.”

That edge has returned — and it’s not simply the result of live batting practice against the Steelers offense. There are intriguing weapons here, talented and versatile players, and there seems to be a creative plan for deploying them.

The Steelers had just the 12th-highest blitz percentage last season at 25.9%. They were 29th in hurry rate at 5.8%. Those numbers should be bigger. It’s the Pittsburgh Steelers. They need to bring more pressure and settle for nothing less.

It’s early, yes. But I really like what I’ve seen so far.

“My first couple years, we were always at the top,” Watt said, talking specifically about sack numbers. “We can definitely be better.

“At the end of the day, splash is always on our mind. We talk about splash every week, whether that’s sacks, tackles for loss, tipped passes or interceptions. Anything we can do to affect the offense and deliver the ball and good field position is something we’re talking about.”