For the first time in quite awhile, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense may look drastically different in 2026. Mike Tomlin and Teryl Austin are gone, and Patrick Graham is now leading the Steelers’ defense.
Count Vince Williams among those who are excited to see what Graham will do in Pittsburgh.
“I love the guy. He’s a brainiac, he’s a genius, man. I used to watch his stuff when I used to break down film, when I was an assistant d-line coach. I was like, ‘Man, this guy really knows what he’s doing,'” the former Steelers linebacker said Wednesday on SNR’s Steelers Standard.
The Steelers’ defense has been staid in recent years, but that’s about to change. If there’s anything to note about Patrick Graham’s time with Miami, New York and Las Vegas, it’s his ability to adapt. None of his defenses in any of those stops had as much talent as he’ll be working with in Pittsburgh.
And coming on the heels of Nick Herbig’s four-year contract extension for Nick Herbig, Graham has a chance to get particularly creative with the Steelers’ edge-rusher group. During his time in Las Vegas, Patrick Graham had Maxx Crosby rush from both sides. Perhaps that’s something he can do with T.J. Watt to spark the former NFL Defensive Player of the Year, something Watt seems open to doing.
He’ll also have to juggle the rotation between Watt, Herbig and Alex Highsmith. Each deserves to be on the field, and maybe saving Watt for key downs allows Herbig to get more reps. Graham could also use some packages with all three on the field, something we saw occasionally in 2025.
Behind that, the secondary has some chess pieces. Jalen Ramsey might play everywhere on the unit. Graham could have him spend time at nickel, patrol the deep zones, or even rush as a blitzer. Complementing DeShon Elliott and Jaquan Brisker, there’s a lot of talent, and different skill sets for Graham to work with.
Making every piece fit together won’t be easy, but Williams seems confident in the Steelers’ new defensive coordinator.
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