Pro Football Talk's view of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022 isn't encouraging
Longtime NFL reporter Peter King dropped his most recent NFL power rankings on Monday (via Pro Football Talk) and he doesn't think very highly of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022. King has the Steelers ranked at No. 23 in his power rankings — which is below every other team in the AFC North. Why does […]
Longtime NFL reporter Peter King dropped his most recent NFL power rankings on Monday (via Pro Football Talk) and he doesn't think very highly of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022.
King has the Steelers ranked at No. 23 in his power rankings — which is below every other team in the AFC North.
Why does King have the Steelers ranked so low?
He doesn't think Pittsburgh has a great quarterback situation. In fact, King said he would have the Steelers ranked even lower if Mike Tomlin wasn't the head coach.
From PFT:
If the coach was anyone but Mike Tomlin, I’d think of the 2022 Steelers in the 5-12 range. They still might be in that neighborhood, because for the first time since training camp 2004, there’s no Ben Roethlisberger, and significant questions about whether Mitchell Trubisky or Kenny Pickett can be a good NFL passer. The offense should run through Najee Harris. His 307 carries as a rookie in 2021 could easily graduate to 330 in 2022. For the Steelers to be close to good, the defense will have to be better than 24th in the league in yards allowed. The talent is too good for that, and new coordinator Teryl Austin will be under pressure to make sure it’s a better unit.
I can certainly understand King's concern about the quarterback position in Pittsburgh. There are a lot of unknowns right now. Will Mitch Trubisky or Kenny Pickett start? Will either of them play at a high level? Was Pickett worth a first-round pick?
However, I think it's reasonable to expect either Trubisky or Pickett to at least play close to the same level as the 39-year-old Ben Roethlisberger played last season. Roethlisberger is a future Hall of Famer, but he didn't play anywhere close to a Hall of Fame level in his final season (he wasn't bad by any means, but he was league average at best).
If Trubisky or Pickett give the Steelers that same level of production as Roethlisberger last season (close to 4,000 passing yards), then the Pittsburgh defense could carry this team to another playoff appearance.
Tomlin has never had a losing season as an NFL head coach. This will be the first year he doesn't have Roethlisberger on the roster, so it's a new challenge. But thanks to the Steelers' stout defense, I think another winning season is in store for the Steelers. And I think a playoff appearance is very realistic.
Featured image via Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
