The Pittsburgh Steelers have a lot of talent on their 2026 roster. It\u2019s the deepest roster in a long time heading into training camp, but the team\u2019s success will be determined by a lot of the usual suspects.<\/p>\n
Below are five players who will be most important when it comes to getting wins on the board for the Steelers.<\/p>\n
HONORABLE MENTION: T.J. WATT<\/p>\n
Watt hasn\u2019t been as prolific at getting to the quarterback over the past two years. The Steelers are at their best when the team is constantly generating pressure. Watt has plenty of help in the form of Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig off the EDGE, but Watt should still be the team\u2019s best pass rusher. Getting back to double-digit plus sacks would be huge.<\/p>\n
5. MICHAEL PITTMAN JR.<\/p>\n
Pittman is the only offseason addition on this list, and I\u2019m putting him on it ahead of DK Metcalf. Not that I think Pittman will surpass Metcalf as WR1, but Pittman has to be a reliable WR2 for the Steelers\u2019 offense to meaningfully improve. WR2 has been one of the biggest weaknesses for the Steelers over the past few seasons. Adding someone who can open things up for Metcalf and be a target over the middle for Aaron Rodgers is huge.<\/p>\n
Metcalf needs to get back to being a 1,000-yard receiver, and if Pittman proves he can pose enough of a threat to opposing defenses, Metcalf will have the opportunity to take advantage of less coverage.<\/p>\n
4. TROY FAUTANU<\/p>\n
Fautanu seems primed to move to left to right tackle. Protecting Rodgers\u2019 blind side is a big task and he\u2019ll need to carry over the momentum from a solid 2025. Switching sides isn\u2019t always easy, but Fautanu played left tackle in college and has gotten plenty of reps there over the offseason. He will continue to do so during training camp.<\/p>\n
If Fautanu and the offensive line can make Rodgers more comfortable, he might be more prone to taking some deep shots and not as worried about getting the ball out at warp speed. That would be beneficial for the offense, and Fautanu\u2019s role this year shouldn\u2019t be understated.<\/p>\n
3. PATRICK QUEEN<\/p>\n
Inside linebacker looks to be one of the Steelers\u2019 biggest weaknesses. Queen has the potential to change that. Not only do his consistency and overall play need to improve in a contract year, but his communication will be something to watch.<\/p>\n
Since taking over as the green dot play-caller, Queen\u2019s communication has been lacking. Whether that\u2019s been Queen\u2019s fault or was an issue with the previous coaching staff is something we should learn rather quickly.<\/p>\n
Queen\u2019s best season of his career came during his previous contract year in 2023. If he can put together a similar performance, Pittsburgh\u2019s defense should be elite with playmakers at every position.<\/p>\n
Largely due to Queen\u2019s inconsistency, inside linebacker hasn\u2019t been an area where the Steelers have consistently good play. If Queen changes that, it\u2019ll change the defense\u2019s outlook for the better.<\/p>\n
2. JOEY PORTER JR.<\/p>\n
Looking at the Steelers\u2019 schedule, the key is to take advantage of a softer first half and start strong. Porter has a gauntlet of receivers to face to begin the season with Drake London, A.J. Brown and Ja\u2019Marr Chase awaiting. Big games from any of those three could lead to a loss and if the Steelers start slow, their playoff odds are going to drop heavily. It\u2019s on Porter to get the better of those matchups.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just the early part of the season, either. Porter will see Chris Olave, Alec Pierce, DeVonta Smith and Nico Collins among the No. 1 receivers he\u2019ll face. Porter was really good last year, and that needs to carry over into this year. Continuing to limit penalties will be key, but Porter can\u2019t take a step back, especially with him likely to have a new contract in hand<\/a> to begin the season.<\/p>\n 1. AARON RODGERS<\/p>\n It\u2019s a quarterback league, and Rodgers\u2019 performance will be the most important to determine how successful the Steelers become. The one thing that can\u2019t happen is him taking a step back from last season. Improving his production from last year would certainly be a benefit, and the Steelers have the pieces in place on offense to make that happen.<\/p>\n But the Steelers will go as Rodgers goes. The potential for an elite defense is obviously nice, but the offense has to put up numbers this year if the Steelers are going to win in the postseason. In what\u2019s more than likely his final season, Rodgers is the most important Steeler this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pittsburgh Steelers have a lot of talent on their 2026 roster. It\u2019s the deepest roster in a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":815295,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[1586,7,7582,11808,6,7584,520,57,2360,426,5226,691,12356],"class_list":["post-956204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-aaron-rodgers","tag-football","tag-joey-porter-jr","tag-michael-pittman-jr","tag-nfl","tag-patrick-queen","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-pittsburghsteelers","tag-steelers","tag-t-j-watt","tag-trending","tag-troy-fautanu"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116987847215206111","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/956204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=956204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/956204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/815295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=956204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=956204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=956204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}