The Pittsburgh Steelers found a way to win the AFC North last year, beating the Baltimore Ravens in a winner-takes-all Week 18 game. A lot has changed since then. Neither team’s head coach from that decisive game will be on the sidelines in those respective cities this year.

In fact, three of the four AFC North teams will have new head coaches this year. Only the Cincinnati Bengals are returning their head coach from 2025. So, where will the Steelers stand this year in terms of the division and their overall ceiling? Insider Gerry Dulac doesn’t think the Steelers are among the league’s best. But when it comes to the division, that might not matter.

“I don’t think of this team as a Super Bowl team,” Dulac said Monday on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “I do think they are still the team to beat in the AFC North. They have made, as they have each of the last couple years, improvements where they were weak. They won the division, and I think they’re a better football team now than they were last year.”

The Steelers definitely bolstered their talent level on both sides of the ball this offseason. Dulac points out a couple of those moves, WR Michael Pittman Jr. and CB Jamel Dean among them, as being key improvements.

No doubt the Steelers needed to address their issues at wide receiver. Last year, they essentially had WR DK Metcalf and a rotating cast of receivers who didn’t make a major impact and are no longer in Pittsburgh. So, the Steelers kicked off their offseason by acquiring Pittman in a trade with the Indianapolis Colts. They also added WR Germie Bernard in the second round of the draft.

As for Dean, the Steelers tried to upgrade their cornerback room in free agency last season with Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey. Ramsey had to move to safety midseason due to injuries and a lack of production at that spot. Slay never played at the level of a lockdown man the team had hoped, and the team released him in early December. He actually announced his retirement in May.

The Steelers needed to add talent at the corner position this offseason. In addition to signing Dean, they re-signed CB Asante Samuel Jr., who showed some flashes in limited playing time in 2025.

Just as importantly, the Steelers didn’t lose much in terms of talent this offseason, in Dulac’s eyes.

“There weren’t big losses at all,” Dulac said. “Kenny Gainwell and Isaac Seumalo, I don’t think anybody’s thinking, with all due respect to those players, that that is crippling this team.”

Gainwell was the team’s MVP as voted by the players in 2025. He also led the team in targets. That should be a big set of shoes to fill. Which the Steelers did in a variety of ways. One, they bolstered their wide receiver room as noted above. That means the Steelers and QB Aaron Rodgers have more options in the passing game and aren’t relying on a running back to keep the chains moving in the passing game.

Also, the Steelers signed RB Rico Dowdle. Dowdle and new Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy have experience together from their time with the Dallas Cowboys. McCarthy has already sung Dowdle’s praises, especially about his intelligence. Also, Dowdle posted back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons with the Carolina Panthers the last two years. So, he’s an effective running back option.

If Dulac is right that the Steelers have improved from last year, they could have a good shot at winning the AFC North for the second year in a row.