2025 NFL Season Preview: Pittsburgh Steelers

2025 NFL Season Preview:

Veteran Additions:
QB Aaron Rodgers, QB Mason Rudolph, RB Kenneth Gainwell, WR DK Metcalf, WR Robert Woods, TE Jonnu Smith, TE Donald Parham, LB Malik Harrison, CB Jalen Ramsey, CB Darius Slay, CB Brandin Echols, S Juan Thornhill.
Early Draft Picks:
DT Derrick Harmon, RB Kaleb Johnson, DE Jack Sawyer. Steelers Rookie Forecast
Offseason Losses:
QB Russell Wilson, QB Justin Fields, RB Najee Harris, WR George Pickens, WR Mike Williams, WR Van Jefferson, OT Dan Moore, G James Daniels, C Nate Herbig, LB Elandon Roberts, CB Donte Jackson, S Minkah Fitzpatrick, S Damontae Kazee.

2025 Pittsburgh Steelers Offense:
Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers flirted with each other for months. It took what seemed like an eternity for the move to finally become official, but Rodgers ultimately signed with Pittsburgh, giving the team an upgrade over Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.

Rodgers may not sound like a promising addition, given his age (41) and his poor 2024 campaign. However, Rodgers was coming off a torn Achilles, so he wasn’t going to be 100 percent. Now that Rodgers is another year removed the injury, he’ll play better, assuming that all of his talents haven’t been sapped with age. At the very least, he’ll be better than Mason Rudolph and Wilson. That’s a low bar, but both quarterbacks got Pittsburgh to the playoffs in each of the past two seasons.

Rodgers will have a better No. 1 receiver at his disposal than both Rudolph and Wilson did, as the Steelers acquired DK Metcalf from the Seahawks for a second-round pick. Metcalf is a dynamic talent and was expected to form a great duo with George Pickens, but Pickens was later dealt for a third-round choice. It’s unclear who the No. 2 receiver, though it sounds like the coaching staff likes 2024 third-rounder Roman Wilson, who missed all but one game with an injury as a rookie. Rodgers will also rely on talented tight ends Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith. The latter was recently acquired from the Dolphins for Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Rodgers will be happy to know that he’ll be protected by a quality offensive line, though there was one crucial departure this offseason with James Daniels signing with the Dolphins. Having Daniels back would’ve been a huge boost, given that he played only four games last year. His replacement, rookie fourth-rounder Mason McCormick, was underwhelming, but he’ll now have experience, so perhaps there will be some improvement. The rest of the interior blocking can carry McCormick, however, as second-round rookie center Zach Frazier was terrific. Isaac Seumalo is also a quality blocker.

Daniels wasn’t the only talented lineman to miss significant action, as rookie tackle Troy Fautanu lasted only one game before he was lost for the season. Fautanu, in that one game, looked much better than his replacement, Broderick Johnson, but the Steelers had to go back to Johnson. With Dan Moore gone, Johnson looks like he’ll be a starter this year, which is far from ideal.

Though the blocking isn’t great, it’s decent enough to open running lanes for the two primary backs. Najee Harris is gone, so Jaylen Warren will get a larger workload this year. There’s also impressive third-round rookie Kaleb Johnson, who could push for playing time. Johnson posted terrific tape at Iowa, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone if he supplants Warren sooner rather than later.



2025 Pittsburgh Steelers Defense:
If there is any doubt that elite edge rushers have a huge impact on their team’s performance, anyone can point to the 2022 Steelers as an example. With T.J. Watt on the field, Pittsburgh was 8-2 and ranked in the top six of pass defense EPA. Without Watt, the Steelers were 1-6 and were 30th in pass defense EPA. Watt was sorely missed once again last year when the Steelers didn’t have his services in the opening-round playoff game against the Bills. Pittsburgh was blown out as a result.

Watt, who recorded 11.5 sacks last year, managed to remain healthy all season. His presence was instrumental in Pittsburgh advancing to the playoffs despite all of their offensive issues. It wasn’t completely smooth at the position, however, as Alex Highsmith, who collected six sacks, missed six games, so Pittsburgh’s defense wasn’t as potent as it could have been for the entire year. Pittsburgh used a fourth-round pick on Jack Sawyer, so he and Nick Herbig (5.5 sacks) will make sure that the team has quality depth on the edge.

Pittsburgh’s first round pick was used on another player in the front seven. The athletic Derrick Harmon was the choice, and he was needed with Cameron Heyward now being 36 years old. Heyward was still great last year, but at his age, he could suffer a rapid decline at any moment, so Harmon’s presence will be crucial. The two will sandwich nose tackle Keeanu Benton, whose run-stuffing ability leaves much to be desired.

The Steelers made one significant free agent signing on this side of the ball. That was Darius Slay, who could offer a short-term solution at a problematic cornerback situation. No one at the position performed well last year, as Joey Porter Jr., Cameron Sutton, and Donte Jackson were all big disappointments. Slay is an older player, so the Steelers needed to continue to address the position. They did so by obtaning Jalen Ramsey in the aforementioned Jonnu Smith-Minkah Fitzpatrick trade. Ramsey is not the same, great player he once was with the Rams, but he had a solid 2024 season.

Speaking of Fitzpatrick, he and DeShon Elliott were expected to form a great duo before the trade. Elliott was signed over from Miami during the preceding offseason, and he exceeded expectations. With Fitzpatrick gone, Juan Thornhill will be pressed into action. Thornhill is coming off a poor showing in Cleveland, but played well in the past when he was on the Chiefs.

At linebacker, the Steelers also had a new player who thrived. That was Payton Wilson, who was chosen in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Wilson played about half the snaps, but did very well in those opportunities. Every-down linebacker Patrick Queen didn’t have his best season, but he’s very talented and could easily rebound.



2025 Pittsburgh Steelers Schedule and Intangibles:
The Steelers had some major kicking woes in 2015 – until they found Chris Boswell. He’s been an excellent kicker for them ever since. He was 41-of-44 last year, including a ridiculous 13-of-15 from beyond 50.

Cameron Johnston was an excellent punter in 2023, but he played only one game in 2024 because of injury.

The Steelers have some easy games to start the year, with matchups against the Jets, Seahawks, Patriots, and Browns. There are some other easier games later in the year, but there are also non-divisional battles against the Bills, Lions, Packers, Chargers, and Vikings.



2025 Pittsburgh Steelers Rookies:
Go here for the Steelers Rookie Forecast, a page with predictions like which rookie will bust and which rookie will become a solid starter.



2025 Pittsburgh Steelers Positional Rankings (1-5 stars):

Quarterbacks		Offensive Line		Secondary
Running Backs		Defensive Line		Special Teams
Receivers		Linebackers		Coaching