Joe Kuzma’s Pittsburgh Steelers 53-man roster prediction

by Joe Kuzma (joe_kuzma) on September 1, 2017

The preseason has come to a close and now it’s time to decide who stays, and who goes.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, along with 31 other NFL teams, will trim their rosters from 90 players down to 53 (with up to 10 returning on the practice squad).

Without further ado, here are my personal predictions for the Steelers 53-man roster to start Week 1.

Quarterbacks (3)

Ben Roethlisberger, Landry Jones, Josh Dobbs

Zero surprises here. Sorry folks, Bart Houston wasn’t going to make the cut!

Running Backs (4)

Le’Veon Bell, James Conner, Terrell Watson, Roosevelt Nix

The “Nightmare” runs like an angry force and is unlike any other back on the roster. I believe his upside is worth keeping him over that of Fitzgerald Toussaint or Knile Davis (who was reportedly released already).

Tight Ends (4)

Vance McDonald, Jesse James, Xavier Grimble, David Johnson

I can’t get over the fact that if McDonald and/or Jesse James were to get injured, the Steelers would require more of David Johnson. Therefore, Xavier Grimble sticks with the team for now.

Wide Receivers (6)

Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant, Eli Rogers, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Sammie Coates, Justin Hunter

In a tough call, Cobi Hamilton, Demarcus Ayers, and Darrius Heyward-Bey are the casualties here.

DHB is a veteran player under contract, but expendable. I don’t think he offers more upside than Hunter. I’d rather have DHB over Sammie Coates, who has shown me zero this offseason, but we know Coates flashed early last year and as an in-house third round pick, that might buy him some time.

The others are locked into their spots for obvious reasons.

Offensive Line (9)

Maurkice Pouncey, Alejandro Villanueva, Marcus Gilbert, David DeCastro, Ramon Foster, B.J. Finney, Chris Hubbard, Jerald Hawkins, Matt Feiler

There are no real surprises here either, except for Feiler. I struggled with keeping an extra offensive lineman or an extra defensive lineman. I took Daniel McCullers off of the next list to beef up the offensive line instead.

Defensive Line (5)

Cam Heyward, Javon Hargrave, Stephon Tuitt, Tyson Alualu, L.T. Walton

As mentioned above, McCullers is out, and Johny Maxey will likely stick as the “extra” defensive lineman on the practice squad.

Outside Linebackers (5)

James Harrison, Bud Dupree, T.J. Watt, Arthur Moats, Anthony Chickillo

With Keion Adams placed on injured reserve, the outside backers are set in stone as well.

Inside Linebackers (4)

Ryan Shazier, Vince Williams, Tyler Matakevich, L.J. Fort

L.J. Fort had a great preseason and should make the roster over an injured Steven Johnson. Everyone else is a lock too.

Corners (6)

Artie Burns, Joe Haden, Cameron Sutton, William Gay, Mike Hilton, Ross Cockrell

Will Gay will remain because he’s playing dime, can fill in during a pinch and might even dabble as a safety.

Sutton is on the roster as a rookie and Hilton works himself into a role too. I’d flip a coin on Coty Sensabaugh and Ross Cockrell. I’d opt for the guy who has starting experience in the system over the one who does not.

Safeties (4)

Mike Mitchell, Sean Davis, Robert Golden, Jordan Dangerfield

Jacob Hagen hasn’t shown enough this preseason to give the Steelers a reason to keep more than four safeties. The usual suspects return, but Robert Golden could be on the hot seat.