Rob Gronkowski Is Among Those Picking Steelers to Dethrone Ravens
The Ravens are favored to win an unprecedented third consecutive AFC North title, but not everyone is on Baltimore’s bandwagon.
Former NFL players Rob Gronkowski and “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast hosts Will Compton and Taylor Lewan have hopped on the Steelers’ hype train. All three picked Pittsburgh to win the division on FanDuel TV’s “Up & Adams” show.
“I decided with Aaron Rodgers there, he’s still got a lot left in the tank,” Gronkowski said. “I feel like he’s underrated a little bit just because of the stint in New York. But if you really look at it, he had great stats. It was just not a winning organization there. And when you go to a winning organization like the Pittsburgh Steelers, and you add Aaron Rodgers to it, and you make those moves that they were making this offseason … I think they’re going to do it.”
Compton noted that the Ravens have the better roster but a harder schedule than the Steelers.
“The Ravens play nine playoff teams [from last season] this year – five playoff teams from last year in the first six weeks,” Compton said. “When you look at the Steelers, I think they’re going to be much better. Obviously with Aaron Rodgers, you got D.K. Metcalf, they have some weapons on the outside. They’re going to have a good defense. They only play about four playoff teams from last year, [and] they’re kind of scattered throughout the back half.”
(Quick fact check: Pittsburgh actually has seven games against playoff teams, including the Ravens twice.)
Lewan likes the Steelers in part because he believes Rodgers is “going under the radar.”
“This is the perfect time for him to go off,” Lewan said. “… I think their offense is going to come along in a big way with [coordinator] Arthur Smith. Also, you pay T.J. [Watt]; you get [Alex] Highsmith back, who had the ankle and the groin [injuries] last year, who takes a lot of pressure off of T.J., very underrated rusher; and then the leadership of Cameron Heyward. I think this is a sneaky team. I think this is a team that can go and do things that no one thinks they can do, and that’s win the AFC North.”