Now that the NFL draft and free agency are behind us, it’s a good time to hit our first Steelers 53 man roster prediction of the season.  There are some interesting depth battles on this team, and some areas of concern.  With that in mind, lets get to it:

Offense (25):

Quarterback (3): Aaron Rodgers, Will Howard, Drew Allar

There’s been some rumors recently that Aaron Rodgers could choose to go to the Cardinals.  Arizona is having a contract dispute with Jacoby Brissett at the moment.  It doesn’t hurt that the Cardinals offensive coordinator is Nathaniel Hackett, a guy who is known to be very close to Rodgers.  Have to think the Steelers are still the favorite, so for the time being he’s penciled in as the starter.  The odd man out in this scenario has to be Mason Rudolph. Look for a trade to a backup needy team some time this summer.

Runningback (3): Rico Dowdle, Jaylen Warren, Eli Heidenreich

The glaring name missing here is Kaleb Johnson.  The Steelers will attempt to stash him on the practice squad for now.  Heidenreich becomes the Kenneth Gainwell replacement on obvious passing situations.  He could very quickly become Aaron Rodgers favorite receiver despite being a rookie.

Wide Receiver (6): DK Metcalf, Micheal Pittman, Germie Bernard, Ben Skowronek, Kaden Wetjen, TBD

We can pencil in Roman Wilson for that sixth spot for now.  I do expect another veteran to be signed at some point however.  Wilson will be waiting anxiously during cut down day to see if any decent wide receivers get let go.  If they do, Wilson’s days in Pittsburgh will be numbered.

Tight End (3): Pat Freiermuth, Darnell Washington, JJ Galbreath

Muth and Washington are locks of course.  Galbreath wins the third spot by default with very little competition to push him.  This could be another position the Steelers add to this summer.

Fullback (1): Riley Nowakoski

There was a time where we stopped putting fullbacks in our Steelers 53 man roster prediction.  The drafting of Nowakoski changes all that.

Tackles (4): Troy Fautanu, Max Iheanachor, Broderick Jones, Dylan Cook

Lots of moving parts here, and lots of questions.  What is the health status of Broderick Jones?  Do they move Fautanu to left tackle, or make Iheanachor switch positions and play on the left side?  Does Dylan Cook start the season, giving Iheanchor a chance to gradually make his way to being a starter?

Interior Line (5): Mason McCormick, Zach Frazier, Spencer Anderson, Gennings Dunker, Brock Hoffman

Only question with this group is who starts out at left guard.  Eventually I expect Gennings Dunker to win the job, but we probably see Spencer Anderson to start the season.

Defense (25):

Defensive Line (7): Cam Hayward, Derrick Harmon, Keeanu Benton, Yahya Black, Sebastian Joseph-Day, Esezi Otomewo, Logan Lee

Finding 53 roster worthy players is a struggle right now.  At this point Logan Lee gets a spot by default.  The Steelers should add another safety, or corner to this roster, but for the time being Lee is in because there really is no one else rosterable.

Inside Linebacker: (5): Patrick Queen, Payton Wilson, Cole Holcomb, Malik Harrison, Carson Bruener

This could be a big year for Patrick Queen.  New defensive coordinator Patrick Graham should have a much better scheme for Queen to work in.  On the other hand, this is a make or break year for Payton Wilson.  He needs to become a more consistent contributor this season.  Cole Holcomb another year removed from his injury could threaten for Wilson’s starting job this season.

Outside Linebacker: (4): TJ Watt, Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig, Jack Saywer

Barring a trade, you can mark these four down in pen.  How Patrick Graham divides up the playing time will be interesting.  It’s sounding like Nick Herbig is growing tired of his part time role.

Corner (5): Joey Porter Jr., Jamal Dean, Asante Samuel, Brandin Echols, Daylene Everett

Pretty solid group here.  The question becomes what is the Steelers plan for Jalen Ramsey?  Is he the slot corner, or the starting free safety.  With the alarming lack of depth at safety we’re betting Ramsey is this team’s starting free safety.  Either Brandin Echols or Darlene Everette will end up in the slot.

Safety (4): Jaquan Brisker, Jalen Ramsey, DeShon Elliott, Robert Spears-Jennings

Tough to pencil in a seventh round pick as a lock roster spot, but his only competition is an undrafted free agent from 2025 in Sebastian Castro.  Who knows what the Steelers are getting out of DeShon Elliott this season.  He is turning 29 years old, and coming off a horrific knee injury.  He most likely serves as the backup at both safety positions.

Specialists (3): Chris Boswell, Cameron Johnston, Christian Kuntz

The Steelers invited former Penn State punter Gabe Nwosu to rookie mini camp.  He is a massive 6’9″, 313 pond punter who could possibly push Johnston for his job.  Let’s see if he’s given a roster spot after rookie mini camp before we make any judgments.