Few teams have put in more work this offseason than the Pittsburgh Steelers. The front office completely rebuilt the quarterback depth chart and added serious talent on the offensive line. Nevertheless, the rest of the league has worked on getting better as well.
ESPN put out its latest NFL power rankings after the NFL draft and despite all that work, they dropped the Steelers two spots from 13 to 15. Here’s what they had to say about the Steelers from writer Brooke Pryor:
It’s tempting to go with the offensive line here, but the veteran quarterback additions eke out the rookie offensive linemen. Russell Wilson threw for 26 touchdowns to eight interceptions a year ago, while a combination of Kenny Pickett, Mitchell Trubisky and Mason Rudolph threw 13 touchdowns to nine interceptions. At the very least, Wilson and Justin Fields should offer a mixture of more stability and a higher ceiling at the position — especially in a run-first, play-action heavy offense that plays to their strengths.
Among the AFC North, ESPN has Pittsburgh as the lowest-ranked with even the Cleveland Browns coming in at No. 12, The Baltimore Ravens checking in at No. 3 and the Cincinnati Bengals are No. 9.
