The Pittsburgh Steelers went all-in on the defensive side of the football last offseason, making some significant splashes via trade and free agent.
At one point, former head coach Mike Tomlin stated the defense, featuring the likes of big-name pieces in safety Jalen Ramsey, inside linebacker Patrick Queen, cornerback Darius Slay, and a dominant defensive front featuring Cameron Heyward, T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and first-round pick Derrick Harmon, had a chance to be historic.
Even former safety Juan Thornhill stated it had the potential to be the best defense ever.
Then, it was anything but that. Now, though, thanks to the addition of Patrick Graham as the Steelers’ new defensive coordinator, the unit has a chance to bounce back. Pro Football Focus’ Bradley Locker believes the unit can turn things around in 2026.
“Graham has consistently maximized his units’ performances given their talent threshold, with last year in Las Vegas no exception. The Raiders ranked 17th in success rate and 11th in rushing EPA per play despite boasting no stars outside of Maxx Crosby,” PFF writes. “The Steelers are still awaiting answers on Cameron Heyward’s status for 2026 and could use upgrades at cornerback, safety and linebacker. But with talent in T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Joey Porter Jr., Jalen Ramsey, Derrick Harmon and more, Graham could elevate the group back to top-10 status.”
The Steelers’ defense struggled to stop the run consistently, and the remade secondary didn’t create splash like the franchise expected. In the end, the Steelers finished 17th in points allowed and 26th in yards allowed. Players questioned the scheme and the communication abilities of the coaching staff, and it ultimately led to the franchise cleaning house after Tomlin stepped down.
Now, with Graham in as defensive coordinator, a highly respected and experienced play-caller, the Steelers defense has some sound pieces in place in an effort to turn things around.
Ramsey was a versatile piece for the Steelers last season, one that solidified things down the stretch in the secondary after moving to safety to help cover up some injuries. But, he didn’t have the splash plays many were hoping for. He did set a career-high with 3.0 sacks on the season, but outside of that, he had just one interception and didn’t have much of a hand in generating those splash plays defensively.
Darius Slay was a complete bust in free agency and was ultimately released midway through the season, leading to the emergence of James Pierre. If Pierre is re-signed opposite Joey Porter Jr., the cornerback room looks a bit better, and the secondary as a whole will be helped by the return of safety DeShon Elliott from injury.
The real question for the Steelers’ defense, and the only real way they’ll get back to top 10 production under Graham, is if Watt returns to form. Fortunately, Graham did a great job with Maxx Crosby in Las Vegas and got some of his best play out of him, so he could do something similar with Watt.
Moving him around from an alignment perspective, scheming up stunts with him, and overloading pressure elsewhere should give Watt plenty of 1-on-1 pass-rush reps and potentially get him away from chips, which should lead to more opportunities for Watt to get back to being a game-wrecker once again.
In general, though, Graham’s biggest task will be getting the players to buy into and believe in his scheme. Last season, when Queen was questioning the scheme, and nickel cornerback Brandin Echols stated that coaches needed to be better after a loss to the Chicago Bears, it showed just how little the defense believed in the simplistic scheme under Austin and Tomlin.
That has to change this year, and Graham was a great hire. He’s done well in the past with limited resources defensively. Now, he’s going from one of the lowest-paid defenses to one of the highest-paid that is littered with high-level talent.
It’ll be very exciting to see what he can cook up defensively, and if he can get Pittsburgh’s defense back to performing at the level of expectation in the Steel City.