The Steelers' 2023 season is over. They were eliminated on Monday, falling to the Bills 31-17 after finishing the regular season with a 10-7 record, despite being outscored by 20 points over those 17 regular season games. They were 5-1 within the NFL’s best division (by a wide margin). The Steelers played eight games against teams that ended up in the in the playoffs, winning five of them, and were 8-5 against teams that ended up with a winning record.
But, now it's all in the past, and there is much to analyze from the 2023 season. However, things move very fast in the NFL, and it is time to look forward.
Who are current Steelers players that are building blocks? Who are the players to build around? Which players are part of the long-term plan? When talking building blocks, the following must be considered: Play on the field to this point, what said player is capable of moving forward, their contract/financial situation, as well as age and the projected/potential lifespan of each player.
Here is a position-by-position analysis of true Steelers building block players (Note: A building block could only be in the mix for a season or two because remember that NFL does stand for Not For Long):
QUARTERBACK
Kenny Pickett will be back with this team next year, and he still very well could end up being a building block. As mentioned a few weeks back, we were basically robbed of a very valuable evaluation period for Pickett without Matt Canada as the offensive coordinator. This position and player obviously are a little different than everything else on the roster, but calling Pickett a building block is just far too much of a reach right now after the sophomore season he had.
Verdict: 0
RUNNING BACK
Running backs are short lived in the NFL. They just don’t last. They need to be judged year by year, and even week by week at times during the season. Building here for the long term makes little sense. So having Najee Harris on a first-round rookie contract and Jaylen Warren on a much cheaper undrafted free agent rookie deal qualifies both as building blocks.
Verdict: 2
WIDE RECEIVER
This is an easy one. George Pickens is basically the definition of a young building block player that could become a true star. Diontae Johnson probably is what he is at this point, which is a high-quality starting NFL receiver on a contract that isn’t too obtrusive, even as a 27-year-old.
Verdict: 2
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSmedia) January 17, 2024
Pickens had some monster games and some real stinkers from a statistical standpoint this season. But, thinking the number of monster games increases and the stinkers become a thing of the past isn’t an unreal expectation for someone of Pickens' immense talent.
TIGHT END
Pat Freiermuth certainly didn’t have the season many of us expected or hoped. But he did finish the season on a strong note in Buffalo, and flashed what he is capable a few times throughout the season. He’s a keeper. Darnell Washington isn’t as easy of an evaluation, but he seemed to hit a rookie wall well into his first season in the league. And even if he only acts as an inline blocker during his rookie deal, that still has value. And, Washington might be capable of much more.
Verdict: 2
OFFENSIVE LINE
James Daniels is only 26 years old despite playing six seasons in the league. Isaac Seumalo was the Steelers' best offensive lineman this season. Those are foundational guards, and who knows, Daniels could potentially slide over to center down the road, something he has plenty of experience doing. Broderick Jones had ups and downs during his rookie season, but talking building blocks, Jones is exactly what you are looking for. His ability is off the charts, and like his college teammate Washington, the Steelers' 2023 first-round pick seemed to hit a bit of a wall as his rookie season wore on him. One wild card here, who by no means can be considered a building block but was very impressive and intriguing in training camp and the preseason, is Spencer Anderson. He just never got his shot during his rookie campaign. Could Anderson be the Steelers' starting center next season?
Verdict: 3
DEFENSIVE LINE
Unfortunately, at age 34, Cam Heyward cannot be considered a building block. That doesn’t mean he no longer has value, but counting on him for the long haul after his worst season in recent memory just doesn’t add up. However, Keeanu Benton showed everything you wanted to see this past season, and probably should have been given a higher snap count. He was tremendous against the Bills but only saw the field for 33 snaps -- a trend that needs to change. The big people on defense had a pretty good season overall, but Benton is the only building block here at the moment.
Verdict: 1
EDGE
T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith are building blocks. End of discussion. But is Nick Herbig? No, not yet, but he sure is intriguing. The Steelers have a challenge in front of them and that is finding a way to get Herbig more involved in the defense during his second season. Even with Watt sidelined, Herbig still only played 20 snaps on Monday and just seven pass rush snaps, which is hard to wrap your mind around.
Verdict: 2
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSmedia) January 17, 2024
Going back to the preseason, Herbig made splash play after splash play throughout his first NFL season. Here he takes on an excellent left tackle, Charles Cross, beats him and splits a double team to not only sack Geno Smith, but also causing the fumble and recovering it -- the trifecta for an edge rusher.
LINEBACKER
When healthy, the trio of Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts and Kwon Alexander was quite effective this past season. And that is a formula the Steelers should try to run back in 2024. All three were good, certainly not great, players. And that is just fine if the Steelers defense is loaded up front and vastly improved in the secondary.
Verdict: 0
SAFETY
Antoine Winfield, Kyle Hamilton and maybe one or two others might argue, but Minkah Fitzpatrick is still probably the best safety on the planet. He didn’t make the big plays this year, but that shouldn’t worry anyone considering Fitzpatrick’s track record of being a game changer. He is a fixture.
Verdict: 1
CORNERBACK
Joey Porter Jr. will not win Defensive Rookie of the Year, but no one on that side of the ball had a better rookie season in the entire league than Porter. And what the Steelers asked of him was as difficult of an assignment as any cornerback in football, regardless of experience. Many are very excited about Cory Trice Jr. and Darius Rush, and they will be great to watch in camp next season. But counting on either to hit as a long-term starting cornerback is pie-in-the-sky thinking.
Verdict: 1
These are college highlights of Trice, who possesses just unbelievable size and length for the cornerback position. These highlights, of course, are more impressive than his short stint with the Steelers before his injury. Counting on an injured seventh-round pick to become a building block is somewhat crazy, but the ability and potential is there with Trice. We shall see.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Did anyone on the team besides Watt have a better season than Chris Boswell? He isn’t cheap and Boswell is 32 years old, but who cares. Very few teams should be more satisfied with their placekicker situation than the Steelers. While Miles Killebrew is exceptional at what he does as a true special teams demon, calling him a building block just doesn’t jive.
Verdict: 1
So, by this tally, the Steelers have 15 building block players. That might not seem like much on a 53-man roster, and you sure would prefer that one of those 15 building blocks was Joe Burrow or C.J. Stroud, for example, at the sport’s most important position. That being said, could/should the Steelers add another handful to these 15 via the draft and free agency before the start of next season? Absolutely. That would be a pretty strong foundation to build upon.
That being said, there is a difference between "building blocks" and "stars," let alone "superstars." How many of these 15 can get into the latter two categories being true difference makers? That will be pivotal.
