The offseason rolls along as the league is knee-deep in the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis this week. The Pittsburgh Steelers are hard at work meeting with a number of the top prospects, particularly at quarterback, wide receiver and cornerback, getting a good look at the draft class.

Before you know it, the start of the new league year will have arrived in March, free agency will open, and GM Omar Khan will be able to make some additions and subtractions to the roster, reshaping the team moving forward.

For now, we’re still wrapping things up from the 2025 season, particularly with the Ranking The Steelers’ Starters series at Steelers Depot.

Today, we’ll look at No. 6-4.

You can read the full rundown of the rankings here:

No. 24-22
No. 21-19
No. 18-16
No. 15-13
No. 12-10
No. 9-7

As a reminder, here’s how the list looked from No. 24-1 ahead of training camp.

No. 24 — Broderick Jones, LT
No. 23 — Troy Fautanu, RT
No. 22 — Calvin Austin III, WR 
No. 21 — Cameron Johnston, P
No. 20 — Derrick Harmon, DE
No. 19 — Mason McCormick, RG 
No. 18 — Keeanu Benton, NT 
No. 17 — Darius Slay, CB
No. 16 — Jaylen Warren, RB 
No. 15 — Payton Wilson, ILB
No. 14 — Patrick Queen, ILB
No. 13 — Aaron Rodgers, QB
No. 12 — Pat Freiermuth, TE 
No. 11 — Joey Porter Jr., CB 
No. 10 — Jonnu Smith, TE 
No. 9 — Isaac Seumalo, LG
No. 8 — Jalen Ramsey, DB
No. 7 — DK Metcalf, WR 
No. 6 — DeShon Elliott, S
No. 5 — Zach Frazier, C
No. 4 — Alex Highsmith, OLB
No. 3 — Chris Boswell, K 
No. 2 — T.J. Watt, OLB
No. 1 — Cameron Heyward, DE 

Here’s how the list looks coming out of the season to this point.

No. 24 — Darius Slay, CB
No. 23 — Corliss Waitman, P 
No. 22 — Jonnu Smith, TE 
No. 21 — Calvin Austin III, WR 
No. 20 — Broderick Jones, LT 
No. 19 — Keeanu Benton, NT 
No. 18 — Pat Freiermuth, TE 
No. 17 — Payton Wilson, ILB
No. 16 — Patrick Queen, ILB
No. 15 — Mason McCormick, RG
No. 14 — Jaylen Warren, RB
No. 13 — Jalen Ramsey, DB
No. 12 — Derrick Harmon, DL
No. 11 — Isaac Seumalo, LG 
No. 10 — Aaron Rodgers, QB 

No. 9 — DeShon Elliott, S

No. 8 — DK Metcalf, WR

No. 7 — Troy Fautanu, RT 

                                  

Today, we’ll take a look at the top 10, ranking No. 6-4.

NO. 6 — T.J. WATT, OLB

No. 2 in the rankings coming into the season, T.J. Watt slides out of the top 5 after a rough season just months after signing a new record-breaking contract with the Black and Gold. His end of the season wasn’t his fault due to the fluke dry-needling injury that led to surgery on his lung.

But prior to that, Watt just wasn’t himself much of the season. Teams were able to scheme up ways to take him away, and his production declined. He was still a great run defender, but he had just 46 pressures and 7.5 sacks. Frustration mounted for him all season long, and then in the playoffs he was non-existent once again.

With a new defensive coordinator in Patrick Graham in the fold and a fresh set of eyes in new OLBs coach C.J. Ah You, hopefully Watt can get back on track, even on the wrong side of 30 and seemingly trending in the wrong direction. The Steelers need him to be T.J. Watt once again.

NO. 5 — ALEX HIGHSMITH, OLB

While Watt struggled much of the season, opposite him Alex Highsmith had a very good one, proving once again that he’s one of the top outside linebackers in the game today. Highsmith battled through some injuries once again, limiting him to just 13 games. But in those 13 games, he had 9.5 sacks and 44 pressures.

He finished the season as one of the highest-graded EDGE defenders, too, finishing No. 15 overall between DeMarcus Lawrence and Maxx Crosby. If he can just stay healthy moving forward, he could really take off. That’s been the only thing holding him back in his career. When he’s on the field though, he’s often unblockable, an important piece of the Steelers defense.

NO. 4 — CHRIS BOSWELL, K

One year after drilling 41 field goals, Chris Boswell wasn’t called upon as much for the Steelers in 2025. He attempted just 32 field goals, connecting on 27 of them. He was also 42-of-43 on extra points, bringing consistency, but his missed XP late in the Week 18 game against the Baltimore Ravens nearly cost the Steelers the game – and the season.

Despite that missed extra point and some struggles midway through the season on field goals, Boswell remains among the best of the best at kicker in the NFL. He was 9-for-11 on field goals from 50+ yards as he continues to be among the best kickers from distance in the history of the sport. But the two misses on field goals from inside 40 yards was concerning.

He’ll be working under a new special teams coordinator this season, too, and could have a new holder depending on what happens with punter Corliss Waitman. He’s in line for a significant extension this offseason, too, so we’ll see what happens. He’s as good as it gets still.