An early look at the Steelers 2020 offensive depth chart
While the NFL Draft is still around the corner, I thought it might be a good time to take a look at the Steelers offense and see what their depth chart looks like – this may give us a decent idea of not only what sort of team they could field this upcoming season, but also where their draft needs might be.
Here’s an early look at how the depth charts should shake out before the team enters training camp.
Quarterbacks
The Steelers should have a healthy camp competition at the quarterback position entering the 2020 season.
Franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is expected to make a full recovery from an elbow injury that cost him all but six quarters of football in 2019. With Big Ben on the field, the Steelers offense looks drastically different.
Behind him, the organization gave a vote of confidence for 2018 third round pick Mason Rudolph, who had a strong start to his 2019 season fade due to a scary concussion hit in Week 5, and then shaky play afterward which saw him benched, then brought back four weeks later only to suffer a collarbone injury in Week 16 and be placed on IR to end the year.
Undrafted fan favorite Devlin Hodges will return to fight for the third quarterback spot with a former first round pick Paxton Lynch. Hodges gained experience in a trial-by-fire situation when both Roethlisberger and Rudolph were injured – Hodges hadn’t made the 53-man roster but was brought back in Week 2 when the team traded former backup Joshua Dobbs.
Lynch, who was drafted by the Denver Broncos, was unsuccessful there and was cut by the Seahawks when vying for the backup spot there in 2019, but saw his bid fall short due to injuries.
Running Backs
The Steelers boast a bunch of running backs capable of shouldering the load in 2020.
2018 Pro Bowler James Conner enters the final year of his rookie contract and hopes to remain healthy to be the feature back after missing three games in 2018 and six in 2019.
Conner led the team in rushing with 464 yards but was quietly seconded by then rookie Benny Snell, who was 38 yards behind on eight less attempts. Snell is a power back and could make a second-year leap expected of players at his position.
Utility player Jaylen Samuels returns with Kerrith Whyte, a late season addition to logged 5.1 yards per carry in spot duty.
The Steelers also added fullback Derek Watt to the fold to replace Roosevelt Nix, who had missed almost all of last season as well.
Wide Receivers
2019 was a struggle for JuJu Smith-Schuster, who was on a mission to prove he could be the team’s top receiving option after the Steelers dumped Antonio Brown in a trade earlier in the offseason.
JuJu also had nagging injuries which saw him leave the field in portions of games as well as miss four entirely. He looks to bounce back with an improved third-year receiver in James Washington (who led all pass catchers on the team with 735 yards) and second-year pro Diontae Johnson was led the way with five receiving touchdowns.
Late season addition Deon Cain adds size and big-play capabilities to the depth chart while slot receiver Ryan Switzer also returns from the injured reserve list.
Tight Ends
One of the big splashes the Steelers made in free agency was to acquire TE Eric Ebron, formerly of the Lions and Colts. Ebron’s play diminished in 2019 due to injuries and poor quarterback play with his former team, but he too is only one season removed from a stellar 13-touchdown Pro Bowl season.
He is joined by veteran Vance McDonald who saw his numbers dip as well due to the lackluster Steelers offense last season, but still managed to play more snaps than any non-offensive lineman player on that side of the ball.
Second-year prospect Zach Gentry was considered a prospect as a fifth-round draft pick will continue to work his way into a larger role on offense as time goes on.
Offensive Line
Perennial Pro Bowlers Alejandro Villanueva, Maurkice Pouncey and David DeCastro may have some adjustments around them as the Steelers added the versatile Stefen Wisniewski to their roster via free agency. Wisniewski is expected to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Ramon Foster at left guard, but can also play center: a crucial detail for a team that lost backup guard/center B.J. Finney in free agency.
Matt Feiler has cut his teeth at right tackle for the last season and a half, but could be moved back over to his natural guard position as the team did during Ramon Foster’s absence for two games in 2019. In that scenario, Felier played left guard while Chuks Okorafor played right tackle. Okorafor is expected to compete for the starting role there with both Feiler and swing tackle Zach Banner.
Final Thoughts
The Steelers appear to be loaded with talent and experience at every level of their depth chart. However, with an aging offensive line and lack of consistency along that front, I would expect them to dip into a deep draft to find their heir apparent or at least shore up depth.
There’s little doubt that the Steelers will also look at a deep wide receiver class to add another potential playmaker, which is almost an annual tradition now in the Steel City.
Also, don’t sleep on the Steelers at the running back position. Despite having a number of capable backs already, they could keep their eye on 2021 and replacing Conner – if not earlier due to Conner’s inability to remain on the field due to injuries.
