Here’s Where Steelers Rank On ESPN’s Future Power Rankings

The Pittsburgh Steelers begin training camp this week with all eyes on them for this season and the future.

After making it to the NFL Wild Card Round last season, the Steelers entered the offseason to revamp their team, specifically the offense. Over the last three seasons, head coach Mike Tomlin has coached Pittsburgh to 10-7 (2023), 9-8 (2022), and 9-7-1 (2021).

They haven’t made it beyond the Wild Card Round since 2017 and have also missed the playoffs in three of the last six seasons. To say this is an important season for now and the future would be an understatement.

ESPN has put together a future power rankings list, projecting what the next three seasons will look like for all NFL teams. The panel of experts was made up of ESPN’s Dan Graziano, Louis Riddick and Aaron Schatz, rating each team with the system of the team’s quarterback situation, roster makeup, front office, and coaching staff.

This system landed the Steelers right in the middle of ESPN’s future power rankings at No. 15 with an overall score of 81.0. The hope for this team comes from Tomlin at the lead and a strong defense. Here’s what Riddick had to say, however, about the concerns for Pittsburgh’s next three seasons.

“The Pittsburgh offense’s ability to create explosive plays in the pass game is an ongoing issue, and finishing 26th in the NFL in plays of 20-plus yards in 2023 did nothing to lessen the worry,” Riddick wrote. “After the Steelers hired Arthur Smith as their offensive coordinator, made additions along the offensive line (Troy Fautanu and Zach Frazier), and overhauled the QB room (adding Russell Wilson and Justin Fields), my concerns are not as great as they were last summer, but for this franchise to achieve elite status again, it must be able to match the best offenses in the league blow for blow.”

As is well-documented last season and through this offseason, it all comes down to the offense for the Steelers. The defense and coaching make up for a lot of their offensive struggles, but something will have to give on offense.

The Steelers will look to get their offense going with either Wilson or Fields leading the way, as the work officially begins on Wednesday, July 24 at training camp.

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