Steelers Defense w/Jalen Ramsey a Top 5 or Bust Unit? | Surprising 53-Man Roster Moves | Trade Next?

Steelers Defense w/Jalen Ramsey a Top 5 or Bust Unit? | Surprising 53-Man Roster Moves | Trade Next?

Hello and welcome to the locked on Steelers podcast. I’m your host Chris Carter bringing you your daily dose of all things of the Pittsburgh Steelers. We’ve got a lot to talk about. The Steelers 53man roster is set. What does it tell us about the Steelers plans moving forward? We go over that with Mike DeFabo and also talk about this secondary and what realistic expectations could be for them all here on the Lockown Steelers podcast. Let’s get into it. [Music] You are locked on Steelers. Your daily Pittsburgh Steelers podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. Hello and welcome to the Locked On Steelers podcast. I’m your host, Chris Carter, bringing you your daily dose of all things on the Pittsburgh Steelers. As always, you can find the show on your favorite podcasting apps and on YouTube. Like this video if you enjoy it. Subscribe to this YouTube channel to get all of your daily Monday through Friday episodes, as well as our bonus content. We thank you for making us your first listen every day because we’re your team every day. And today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. FanDuel football season is around the corner, so visit the FanDuel app today and start planning your future bets now. FanDuel app. Talk more about them later. We’ve got Mike DeFabo back from the Athletic. We always love having Mike on. He loves to get into it with us. Mike, we we we’ve s we saw the 53man Ross. We’re going to get to that, but there’s been a lot of I think reasonable hype. some over some a little too much like when Juan Thornnehill said they could be the greatest defense of all time, but I think there’s some reasonable expectations that I think the fans should have for this secondary to be to be good and to be better than it has been in in years past. What how have you felt just watching them even in like the one series against the Panthers where they didn’t look too sharp and you know they got they got beat in the two-minute drill by the Buccaneers in in the in the in the pract in the joint practice. There’s some people think, “Oh man, these guys might stink.” I don’t think that’s the case. I think this group can still be pretty good. Yeah, I think so. I mean, when you bring in that caliber of talent and then you have guys saying, “We think we can be the number one defense.” It’s not just Juan Thornnehill. Deshawn Elliot said it, Cam Hayward say said it. Um, a lot of other guys have talked about the expectations for this defense. I think unless they’re a top five defense, they have not lived up to expectations. And you look at how much they’ve committed to that side of the ball. We talk so much about them being the highest paid defense right now. According to Over the Cap, I think they have 19 million more than the second defense. So, to put that in perspective, you could essentially take Jaylen Ramsay off of this defense and they still would be right up there close to the top defense. So, um, you know, I think that expectations are high, but I think that because of their actions and because of their words and because of the roster construction, I think absolutely we should be setting the bar high for this team and and I think that’s that’s a good thing, right? You want the bar set high and I think they’re ready to meet it as far as like, you know, the way they talk about it, the responsibilities that they have. I also think it’s interesting in how these guys kind of approach it. Like, you have young guys and older guys in in this in this mix here. Joey Porter Jr. has been very hungry hungry for it. But then you also bring in Jaylen Ramsay who’s ready to be the top dog. But you have Darius Slate where you kind of have a mix of kind of mentors for Joey Porter Jr. You have Ramsay who’s in his prime, maybe on the tail end of his prime, but still in his prime as one of the best corners in the NFL. And then you have Darius Slay who admits to us, he’s like, “Hey, you know, I know I’m on the tail end of my career, but I’m happy to be here to help.” Listen to Darius Slay as he talked. He took several questions. This was two days ago in practice on Monday when we were talking to him and how he talks about the secondary, the defense, Joey Porter, and how the the the chemistry kind of works out between all of them. Here was Darius Slay after the Steelers Monday practice. We’ve looked at it after practice so far with the three of you guys and the opportunities that you guys able to play together. Oh, great, man. Just uh experience. It was fun. if uh this past week uh at uh with the preseason game just seeing us all out there in Carolina out there on the field and I was just really observing even though I get to play for long I was deserving at the fact that you know uh us three out here look fun man it was exciting I was loving it I ain’t want to come out one series I like coach man let’s get another one in but he said nah but uh so we just looking forward to you know real opportunity to go out here and compete slay the sideline reporter was said y’all were chomping at the bit to get a second series what was what’s was that what was that like just being like hey we only got one look but you guys are still hungry to show who you are. Uh just cuz we just got a uh you know uh a real big deal on us, man. We want you know we got a big chip going on and uh and you know got a lot of guys with a lot of great resumes here and you know uh so we just want to put on paper and and on and on on tape. So uh that was a goal, man. We wanted to go out there and compete and continue to keep going cuz that’s our first time actually doing something live and going at it and u man it it was it was fun. So we wanted to go back out there again and uh you know play some more. You mentioned all the resumes and less resumes in the room. I mean, how is that got guys at different stages in your career, right? You’re towards closer to the end. Oh, yes, sir. For sure. That Jaylen’s in the middle. He’s like at the beginning. How is that meshing with with y’all? It’s great. You’ve been the man. Ramsey is the man, wants to be the man, and then Joey wants to be down the road. How’s how’s that working ego wise? Oh, it’s not. One thing about me, they know Slay do not have an ego. why when it comes to that uh my time on that days I mean even though I can compete at a very very high level if it’s need for me to do it I can easily do it and know go ahead compete but I have no I have no shame in no game letting you know any one of them young guys there be the man my time was long time long long time ago you know I had been the league since 2013 13 years so uh you know I’m just here to you know assist help and if I need it at that position of doing what I need to be done I can do it for sure do you like being that that older the that old the old head there that’s sort of like the wise sage that the kids come to to Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That’s why I take pride in that. That’s one I feel like that’s one of my special gifts and that’s one of my favorite roles of being playing this game is be able to mentor young guys or guys that’s younger than me or guys that’s close to my age is helping out and sharing my knowledge of the game to make them become a better player. So that’s what my job is too. When I first got here I even told Joy myself like hey is you know I’m here to help you become the best version of yourself and whatever you need from me just ask. I give it to you. I’m not here to hide no details. I’m not here uh secretly competing against you about who going to be the best corner. Da da da. I ain’t on that. I’m on timer like uh helping him become one of the best in the game. One of my favorite parts of that of that quotes we got there was when Darius Slay was asked if he had an ego and he said Slay doesn’t have an ego and he said in the third person. That’s that was actually pretty funny. Uh but it’s a great quote. It was a great quote like like that’s that’s that’s up there. But also like I I get the sense like this this is a guy who kind of accepts like hey I’ve had my day in the sun of being the man. And we even heard you know a few weeks ago Jaylen Ramsay going I think on the pivots podcast and saying like hey like I am the guy I am going to be taking the number one. I talked to Joey Por he’s like I know but I want the number one. And I think that there’s an understanding but there it’s also good to have that competitive nature where guys know where they kind of fit in but also know where they want to be. Yeah, and I think that Joey Porter Jr. is going to benefit a lot from this. You know, he’s had a lot of different good mentors in his ear during his brief time in Pittsburgh, starting with Patrick Peterson, who I think was really big on the preparation, and he was huge into watching film, picking up tendencies. He passed that along to Joey. Then you’ve got like, you know, a technician in sleigh who can educate him on the fundamentals of things. And then obviously Ramsay is just a dog, you know? I mean, he’s just allaround talent. So, it will be interesting to see like how they mix and match that group because some of it’s going to be based on obviously what personnel package they’re in. We know that when they’re in nickel, for example, you’re going to see Ramsay in the slot, but when they’re in base, he’s probably going to be the free safety overwhelmingly. But I’m kind of curious when they play a team like the Ravens where you’re going to have to be in your base defense 20 to 25 plays a game at that point, how does it sort itself out? How much do you then see Ramsay on the outside and maybe Slay taking a seat for a couple plays or or what do they do? Zeke Zeke got his opinions. He’s like, “No, Slay.” And he said, “Slay goes on the bench. Porter goes on the outside with Ramsay.” That’s what That’s what Zeke says. Yeah. So, so I think it’s going to be good. And then the other thing is you’ve you’ve got three guys who at different po points of their career have played a lot of man coverage. You know, I remember earlier in camp we were asking Slay about that whole idea and he was like, “Man, I made a lot of money playing man coverage.” So, you know, by the nature of of strengthening this secondary, they’ll be able to get back to playing more man coverage, which is Mike Tom’s preferred style of defense. And then Chris, you made this point before. Tomman always talks about the coverage and the rush has to work together. When you’ve got that tight man coverage and the quarterback has no one to go nowhere to go with the football and you’ve got TJ Watt and Alex Highmith bearing down and they’re getting to that quarterback, that’s going to be some long days for quarterbacks. So, um, you know, I think that really what they have it it all seems to work together. I I think so. They need it to work together. They need this defense to be healthy together. if they can be. I do think that like you’re right, top five or bust is kind of where this defense should be this year. Uh they’ve been top 10. It’s funny, I asked Terrell Austin that during training camp. I think it was like the third week or so. We got to talk to him and I was like, you guys have been top 10 your last three years. What does it take to be top five? And he talked about consistency. And he’s like, you know, we we knew when we have a bad week, we have to bounce back faster. And we saw that towards the end of last season, there wasn’t that bounce back when they start when that losing skid started. Now during the season they had some bad win games and they would bounce back and they would improve. They have to make that a consistent thing all throughout the season this year. Yeah. And I the things that I’m looking for them to be more consistent at. Communication is something obviously we’ve talked about a ton when they face bunches or stacks, you know, how do they sort out those stacks and bunches? That was an issue for them last season. Have they rectified those errors because of changes to the schematics and changes to the personnel? Then you look at the fact that they just got run all over against the Ravens. They think that Derrick Harmon when he’s healthy, he’s going to help them take a big step in that regard. And then the third thing that Terrell Austin pointed out was big plays and that’s where the secondary comes in. they’ve made changes to the secondary and you’re hoping that you know when you give up a passing play, it’s not an explosive and you can line up and you can still keep playing football against them. So, you know, those are the specific areas that I think I’d like to see them improve and and the other thing really is I think that they have really thought about what changes they want to make and you are going to see different coverages. I think you’re going to see them operating out of a too high shell more often than than they have in the past. disguise doing more middlefield disguising disguising whether it’s going to be middlefield open or middlefield closed with safety rotation and with different coverages like a little bit more quarters. So in addition to some of these personnel changes there are also schematic tweaks that I think are going to help these guys play a little bit better this year. I I I agree. I want to talk about this 53man roster because there were some moves that did surprise me with the with the way that they handled things. We’ll talk about that next year in the lockedown Steelers podcast. Chris Carter, Mike DeFabo. Stick with us. We’ll be right back. But first, remind you this show is also brought to you by Yahoo Fantasy. The NFL season’s right around the corner, and you can feel the buzz. Fantasy football season is here. Everyone’s researching, drafting, and building their championship squads. If you haven’t joined a league yet, now is the time, and it’s all happening on Yahoo Fantasy. This year, I’m playing Yahoo Fantasy football on Yahoo Fantasy, and you should, too. Whether you’re a first- timerr or a veteran creating your millions league, Yahoo Fantasy is loaded with fun ways to compete and brand new features that make the game even better. With season kickoff on September 4th, now is the time to start playing Yahoo Fantasy football, which offers so many fun ways to compete. Want more ways to play? You could try the brand new Yahoo Fantasy Guillotine League mode where the lowest scoring team gets eliminated every week until one team is left standing in the end. Want to play st instantly with friends? 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This is your chance to tell us what you like, what you don’t like, and answer questions about our advertising. Go to lockdonpodcast.com/servey to get started. Everyone who completes a survey will be entered for a chance to win one of 10 $100 Amazon gift cards. Again, that’s lockedpodcasts.com/servey. You can also find the link in the show notes. Thanks for helping us out. We continue our show here with Mike. Mike, um, out of the 53man roster moves, and I tweeted this when it when it when it when it happened, I was the most shocked by seeing Chuck Clark being released. Um, you know, and I Allan and I talked about, you know, we were slightly surprised but not completely surprised about Corless Weightman over Cameron Johnston. Uh, but I just thought that with the look, I thought Chuck Clark looked good at safety. Um, I I thought that him and Juan Thornhill were fine, you know, rotating guys next to Deshaawn Elliott. And with them, I was like, “Okay, so you have some safety depth.” But now with Chuck Clark out the picture, granted I think he can be brought back very quickly once a couple guys go on IR and we’ll discuss who those guys are, but I just thought naturally you’d want to keep him over like what Assesi. Yeah. No, I agree with you. I was pretty surprised um by that move. And I mean the the most surprising part to me is Juan Thornhill has been injured the last what week or two, Chris. and Chuck Clark has been taking first team safety reps next to Deshun Elliott. So that tells you, I guess, that they were trying to evaluate him in a first team like role, but also they were seriously considering him as the first guy off the bench if they lose a safety. And so, you know, obviously Ramsay can play there, but I feel like you didn’t bring in Jaylen Ramsay to play free safety. Yes, he’s going to do that 20% of the time maybe when they’re in their base defense. Okay. But overwhelmingly, he’s going to be near the line of scrimmage. And you don’t want a situation where Juan Thornnehill is underperforming or Juan Thornnehill gets injured and all of a sudden then you have to play Jaylen Ramsay in all situations and all packages at safety. So, as you’re alluding to, I think there’s a couple options here. Maybe it’s as simple as he’s a guy that’s a vested veteran. He’s not subject to waiverss. So, you cut him, you bring him back on the practice squad, you elevate him off the practice squad when you need him. That would make some sense. The other thing is maybe the Steelers looked at the body type and Chuck Clark is probably I would say more of a a strong safety body type. He is a big hitter. uh he is a guy that plays really well in the box, but he wasn’t as solid in the post and he didn’t have that necessarily he wasn’t that high-end coverage guy. So maybe they look around and maybe they have their eye on somebody else from another team that just got cut and maybe that’s where they find their backup free safety. But um like I don’t I don’t like the idea of having Miles Kilibru be an option. He’s more of a strong safety and even when they’ve had injuries, they’ve been reluctant to use him there. I don’t like the idea of using Ramsay as a safety at all times. So, you know, I think they need some depth there and I wonder what what the answer is going to be. I’m I’m right with you. I don’t know what the answer is going to be there. Um, we know that there’s other guys out there in in the in the market at the safety position. You know, I think Marcus Williams is is a guy with a lot of experience who’s been sitting out there. You know, we he’s played he’s played with the Ravens, so that there’s that connection. I still think that there’s a good chance that Chuck Clark is back in the picture, but to your point, they might want another guy as well. Um, and they could make some other moves around here. Now, let’s let’s talk about some other things that are going to happen with this because the Steelers kept a few guys that I was kind of surprised that they kept. And, you know, we talked I tal I’ve been talking for the past week about the quarterback position and what I thought that they would put Will Will Howard on injured reserve and then that way they’d keep all three. Now, that might be exactly what they do in by the time you even hear or listen to this or watch this episode is that they put him on temporary I IR and they try to bring him back. Uh because they have all four quarterbacks still. Um you look at the defensive backs. They kept three safeties, but they kept Dante Kent and uh Cory Cory Trice in in the mix here at at quarterback. Or wait a minute, why don’t I Yeah, he’s on injured reserve and they injured reserve. Okay. They cut Beanie and then they they cut James Pierre. Yes. Um let’s start with the four quarterbacks. Chris, I I agree with you that I I think that they could just simply put Will Howard on injured reserve. So I I think that that’s a position group where there’s another shoe that’s going to fall. Either it’s going to be simply they’re putting Will Howard on injured reserve or maybe they want to keep four right now in case another team that is looking for a backup quarterback feels like Skyler Thompson is an upgrade. Maybe he could have some type of a market in a trade. I think those are your two possibilities there. Um, to your to your point about these defensive backs, I was I was pretty surprised about Dante Kent just because he’s a seventh round pick. When you draft guys that late, there’s no guarantee that they’re going to make the roster. He basically missed entire training camp. Yep. Plus all three preseason games. I really felt like he was a practice squad guy that, you know, no one else is going to come scoop up a guy that’s injured and a seventh round pick when they had six chances or seven chances at him in the draft. So, I was pretty surprised by that one. Uh, and then I I think it makes sense with Cory Trice. I think in a weird way the injury may have been a blessing in disguise because I think he would have fell fallen right on that fringe. I think he has upside when he’s healthy, but he just hasn’t been healthy enough to see enough of him to believe in him long term. So, he’s kind of buying himself some more time by being on injured reserve and maybe can work his way back into the competition from there. I think that that’s that’s part of the plan, right? Like they’re still giving Cory Trice every chance to recover. You know, this is what his third year. So, he has one more year to kind of get it together, be healthy, and show the Steelers what he wants before they would explore even, you know, keeping him around for longer. Uh, but again, that’s why he was a seventh round pick, you know, part of it was injury. He tore his ACL at Purdue and there were questions about that knee. He ends up tearing his other ACL, then he pulls his hamstring. Now, he pulled his hamstring again. So, I mean, he is a interesting player. He’s incredibly long. I actually covered Purdue when they signed Cory Trice and Jeff Braum, the coach, was like, “Man, when he fills out, he’s going to be the first guy we let off the bus because he is a big dude.” Um, and you see some of the talent there, but he just hasn’t been healthy enough to to to realize that that outside potential. I hear you there. I want to put you on the spot real quick, Mike. If there’s one area the Steelers do go and add a player that hasn’t been on the roster yet this year slashtraining camp, where is that area? And do you have any idea of of the of the player that they should be looking at? Chris, I think we all know the answer to this one. It’s got to be wide receiver, right? It’s the one that we’ve been banging the table for for six months and the next day and the next day and the next day. It doesn’t stop, Mike. Yeah. So, there’s a couple options. I mean, people were really excited earlier about Jacobe Meyers, and I think the Steelers probably would be interested in a guy like that. He would make sense. He would fit with Aaron Rogers and what he does. He wins a lot on inb breaking routes. He’s a pretty good route runner. Doesn’t have great straight line speed, but he is kind of a shifty guy, which makes sense for a quarterback that wants to rely on timing and precision and choreograph drives that way. Um, based on what I’m hearing from, uh, Tashan Reed, who’s our uh, Raiders reporter at the Athletic, he’s like, “The Raiders don’t want to give him up. Why would they give him up?” He’s like, “They, yeah, he can request a trade, but the Raiders quickly said, we’re not doing that because we don’t have another option. We need you to be part of our plan this year.” So, I think in order for that deal to get done, I don’t think it’s completely dead, but I feel like the Steelers would have to make a really strong offer to the Raiders, uh, to entice them to move a guy like that. Um, there were also a couple guys that were cut that kind of piqued my interest. Um, you know, Marquez Valdez Scandling I think is interesting. He played with Aaron Rogers in Green Bay. Rogers seems to like guys that he has that familiarity with. I’d be curious his opinion on him. The other guy that I’m kind of intrigued by, but I also have my concerns, is Malachi Corley. Malachi Corley. The Steelers obviously had some level of interest because they brought him in for a pre-draft visit when he was coming out of Western Kentucky. I also feel like Arthur Smith is obsessed with those hybrid type players and Corley was getting Debo Samuel comps through his draft process as kind of a biggerbodied kind of versatile guy that maybe you put him in the back field sometimes u maybe you play him at wide receiver. So I feel like that would interest Arthur Smith and it was actually my understanding that Rogers kind of pushed the Jets to draft Kley because he felt like he would fit his skill set. Now, Kohley went on to have a very underwhelming rookie season. I’ve read stuff that he didn’t want to play special teams. Um, so, you know, you you do wonder there if he really is a fit, but those are just a couple names, but there there are a lot of guys out there that I think the Steelers will at least watch some film and start evaluating their options. I I I I like all those options. I think those are all reasonable picks there. I’m going to go with one that’s a little bit out of the box and that’s a player that got released uh because of his injury history and because he kind of hadn’t been working out and that’s Juju Brent. Now if people don’t remember who that is, he was a quarterback from the 2023 class with Joey Porter Jr. and Cory Trice. Uh he was a pre- he was a top 30 visit for the Steelers. Uh and he was a good I thought he was a good pick by the Colts, but the problem was he kept being injured. In fact, he missed all of last season with an injury, a knee injury that he sustained in week one. So, similar to Cory Trice, he hasn’t been staying on the field. I feel I I’ve always felt like Juju Brent would have been very good with what the Steelers were trying to build. He has a similar build to Cory Trice to uh uh Joey Porter Jr. He’s one that made a lot of sense to me. It would not surprise me if the Steelers went after him, but granted, they have other concerns right now considering how stacked they feel about their quarterback room. Yeah. No, I think that that makes sense. um because you can never have enough depth at that position. And right now, Brandon Eckles has come in and he’s kind of making his case to be that first defensive back off the bench in all situations, whether that’s outside corner or in the slot. Um but again, like you you can’t have enough depth at that position. So, I I think that that’s reasonable. I hear you there. I want to talk about some of these fringe players that made the roster and who impressed us the most. We’ll talk about that next here on the Locked On Steelers podcast. Chris Carter, uh, Mike DeFabo. Stick with us. We’ll be right back. But first, we remind you this show is also brought to you by FanDuel. The NFL season is almost here and FanDuel is making sure that you’re ready for kickoff with a can’tmiss offer. Right now, new c new customers can bet just $5 and if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. I love using the FanDuel app because it’s it fits however you like to bet. Player props, building a same game parlay, or even jumping in live as the action unfolds. It makes every game more exciting, whether you’re watching your team or just keeping an eye on your fantasy lineup. It’s quick, easy, and the best way to add a little more energy to Sundays. So, are you ready to play? Download the FanDuel app by now by visiting fanduel.com to get started. That’s fanduel.com to place your first $5 bet only at FanDuel. [Music] We’re back here in the Lockdown Steelers podcast. I’m Chris Carter here with Mike the Fabo, Steelers reporter at the Athletic. Mike, we we could let’s talk about guys who weren’t obvious at the start of training camp to make this roster that did make this roster because there’s some guys that are obvious now. Um, and you you named this guy before this before we started the show. The first one is obvious and I talked about this with Allan, Scotty Miller. Now he feels like a lock, but he did not feel like a lock going into training camp. I I thought his spot was very much in jeopardy. Yeah, I thought he was going to get cut coming into training camp. Um, but he has surged as Robert Woods fell and showed he kind of played his age at 33 years old. And with Scotty, I think the biggest thing is he has a playing style again that fits Aaron Rogers. Like he’s a shifty route runner. And it stuck out to me that in the very first training camp practice, if you remember back then, Rogers started it by throwing an interception to Patrick Queen. You know, a couple missed receptions, missed targets for DK Metaf. and his first reception of camp was to Scotty Miller. And it’s felt like throughout camp when he’s needed a reception and he’s been struggling or the coverage has been good, it’s been Scotty that he’s been going to underneath. And and I feel like he just fits this offense and this quarterback so much better than a big deep ball thrower like Russell Wilson. Russell Wilson was kind of a one-trick pony. He was going to either throw the moon ball or he was going to be checked on Charlie. And really Scotty’s not that deep threat. He just isn’t. And so, you know, I think that that’s really benefited him. Um, so he he’s definitely like the at the top of the list in terms of guys that surprised on the bubble. I I agree. He was he’s at the top of the list. I’m going to say this name because he wasn’t on the fringe for me because I was confident he was going to make the roster, but there were some people who didn’t believe in him. And I’m going to say Cole Hulkcom because some people felt like, oh, well, he’s he’s probably old and won. I was I was one of them that was kind of Oh, well, there you go. I wasn’t I wasn’t uh talking trash on him like you’re saying, but No, no, no, no. But I was like, hey, do they need him? They just drafted Carson Bruner. You know, Mark Robinson’s a good special teams guy. You know, do you need him at that salary? And I thought he played well. What did you think? I thought he did great. I I thought when you looked at how he played uh how he played just next to Payton Wilson, they could have been the starting line inside linebackers for this team. Now, Patrick Queen still the upgrade, but I just think that this is a position Mike you even before you covered the Steelers. You watched them linebacker has been tough on the depth chart. It just injuries, bad luck, all sorts of things that have led to triple practice squad guys coming up. guys that were like taking Miles Jack was taking flying lessons and then Miles Jack off the street. He owned a hockey team and was take Yeah. trying to become a pilot. That was so He also was like an electrician school or something like that. Yeah. Like there’s there was so much that was going on that that the Steelers needed it. Now they don’t have that problem. At least they don’t at least they don’t have it now because of the like the the the depth that they have. But between Patrick Queen, Cole Hulk, Pton Wilson, they have a trio of guys that they can be confident in. I also and and I still think Malik Harrison, if you had told me Malik Harris was the number two on this team, I’d say you’d be in a lot of trouble. But as a fourth inside linebacker, you could say, “Hey, your job, go stuff the run. Go be physical.” And that’s his perfect fit there. I’ll tell you another fringe guy that I was that impressed by, and this is in the same position, Carson Bruner himself, uh, for being as good as he was on special teams. That’s how he made this this roster because Mark Robinson had kind of been that guy. They passed that mantel down to Carson Bruner. Yeah, you named a lot of inside linebackers. They’ve taken what was a clear weakness and turned it into an obvious strength on this team. I remember when they signed Cole Hulkcom. I felt like he was the most irreplaceable Steeler just because they didn’t have a lot of depth and he was at that time in the green dot role where he was the every down do everything three down linebacker and you know obviously he’s probably not the exact same athlete after that gruesome knee injury but he showed that he can be pretty solid still and I think he still has the intelligence the football IQ the passion for the game and you know his coverage ability probably isn’t what it once was but it’s still decent enough that if you were to lose linebackers they should feel pretty good at that position and so I mean to go from he was your starter that you couldn’t ever lose or you’d be in bad shape to now hey he’s your third guy and he’s your injury insurance and he’s pretty decent at that I think that puts him in a really good spot at inside linebacker for a team that’s going to want to play a lot of man coverage and is going to need coverage linebackers like those three guys we mentioned mentioned the top the depth chart. Absolutely. I’ve been daming a lot of guys. Mike, give me a name that you’re that that you’re impressed by that was a fringe guy to make the roster initially, but has solidified his spot. How about Andress Pete, the offensive lineman. Yeah. I mean, when he came into training camp, you’re thinking, okay, this is a guy that anyone could have had. He’s been on the market for a long time. Is he even going to make this team? And I remember watching him like his first or second practice, he looked totally gassed, totally just winded. Um, but then you see him in these preseason games and you’re like, “Okay, that’s why you were a 2015 first round pick. That’s why you went to three Pro Bowls. There’s still some of that left in you.” Now, he’s 31 years old. He’s, you know, ideally he’s never going to start for the Steelers, right? But he can give you depth at guard and at tackle. and he’s like six foot seven and long arms. Like he has measurables that you can’t just find on the street. And I I honestly wonder, is it going to get to a point where he earns enough of the coaching staff’s trust that if they lose a guard, he’s going to be your first guy off the bench? Because I think that he was that good in the preseason. It certainly looked like it. He started in the first preseason game, he started playing at left tackle, played 21 snaps there, and then in the second and third preseason preseason games, he played exclusively at left guard. Uh that’s the versatility that that can win you a roster spot. So kudos to Andre Peta. Great pick by you because I do think that could be crucial to the Steelers if they lose a guard or a tackle having a guy that can flip between either or. Uh, and then that way you’re saying, hey, NFL vet, like you said, six, seven frame with long arms, a guy who’s been in the NFL, you’re not going to have to tell, he doesn’t need to adjust to the rigor of, hey, every week, new game plan, new new fronts that we got to study, new this, new that, new communications. If you needed him in a pinch, he could fill in. I agree with you there. Well, how about how about also I mean, he’s not a fringe guy, but YA Black Oh my god. I mean, when when they drafted YA Black, I’m thinking to myself, okay, they got their first round guy, plugandplay starter. Now, they’ve got a guy in the fifth round that he’s going to sit on the bench for a while. He’s going to be a developmental guy. Maybe in two or three years, this guy could crack the rotation or maybe even start becoming a starter. But he’s been really impressive. I know people are like want to poo poo it and say, “Well, you know, it was against backups.” Well, he’s doing it against the first team off offensive line in the first team offense in practice and there was a funny moment in practice where they were doing a red zone offense drill and they went to throw the football and he batted it down at the line of scrimmage and everyone’s kind of cracking up and Tomman’s like, “Man, he can’t help himself.” Yeah, he can’t. He’s just so good at it and he’s so big and he’s so long. So, I I just feel like he’s a guy that we did not expect, you know, he’s going to make the team inevitably, but we thought he was going to be, you know, maybe a role player, maybe a special teams guy, but with Derek Harmon, I think he could be a bigger part of that answer than anyone anticipated when they drafted him in the fifth. I agree. I think that he’s going to be a bigger part of this rotation. He might be the first guy off the bench even uh for this group. Maybe that’s maybe that’s I don’t have a lot of faith in Liao. I mean not Liao. I mean’s gone. Yeah, I have no faith in Louder Milk because he’s not on the team anymore. Um but yeah, I mean Louderm Milk is what he is at this stage of his career. And I think Logan Lee is um you know a nice he’s that nice developmental piece. So you know I think that um depending how long Harmon’s out I think we could see more and more of YA Black. Could be really interested to see those young Iowa dudes Logan Lee and Ya Black continue to progress on the defensive line. We got one more practice for the Steelers to later today. I’ll be there. Mike will be there. We we’ll talk about it on the Thursday episode of the Lockdown Steelers podcast. Mike, thanks so much for joining us here on the Lockdown Steelers podcast. Let people can find know where they can find you, follow you, and get more of your work. Yeah, you can uh find me on all social media, Mike DeFabo, and read my stuff in The Athletic. I got a story coming out uh tomorrow on Aaron Rogers and his cadence and I talked to all the offensive linemen. The best quote was probably from uh Faanu where he said, “I know that the ball’s coming when Aaron stops speaking English and that’s great.” So, kind of diving into what they can do with that cadence and and the unique ways that the offensive line learned how to how to prepare for it. Absolutely. Check out Mike’s work at The Athletic. He does a great job. Mike, thanks so much for joining us. Thank you all for joining us here on the Lockdown Steelers podcast. I’m your host Chris Carter. Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok, Blue Sky. Same same handle everywhere. It’s Carter Critiques. Read my work in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette by going to post-gazette.com. Find me here on the Locked Steelers podcast every day Monday through Friday on your favorite podcasting apps and on YouTube. But like this video if you enjoyed. Subscribe to this channel to get all those episodes. Back here tomorrow with more on your Steelers right here on the Locked On Steelers podcast. Heat. Heat. N. [Music] [Music]

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense looks the part of being a top five unit in the NFL, and that’s not overhyping their potential. Christopher Carter and Mike DeFabo explain why they think the addition of Jalen Ramsey with the younger players they’ve added to the defensvie front could be the difference maker that makes them an elite unit in 2025.

Also, Chris and Mike dicuss the most surprising 53-man roster moves by the Steelers, what moves are around the corner, and if Omar Khan has any trade plans coming up.

Steelers Defense w/Jalen Ramsey a Top 5 or Bust Unit? | Surprising 53-Man Roster Moves | Trade Next?https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7JorgD8nGLtvvMy1ogFetg

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