There are 42 days between now and the start of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, which means the dog days of summer are here in Western Pennsylvania.
Things are grinding to a halt when it comes to the Black and Gold, unless GM Omar Khan has some magic up his sleeve again. Knowing that, I continue to grind away at my annual summer series Ranking The Steelers’ Starters from No. 24-1, featuring kicker and punter.
In case you missed it, I ranked No. 24-22 over the weekend, kicking off the series.
Here is my projected starting lineup for the Steelers, kicker and punter included, for the season opener in Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons.
*Italics indicates player has been used in the series.
OFFENSE
QB — Aaron Rodgers
RB — Jaylen Warren
WR — DK Metcalf
WR — Michael Pittman Jr.
WR — Germie Bernard
TE — Darnell Washington
LT — Troy Fautanu
LG — Mason McCormick
C — Zach Frazier
RG — Spencer Anderson
RT — Dylan Cook
DEFENSE
DE — Cameron Heyward
NT — Keeanu Benton
DE — Derrick Harmon
OLB — Alex Highsmith
ILB — Patrick Queen
ILB — Payton Wilson
OLB — T.J. Watt
CB — Jamel Dean
CB — Joey Porter Jr.
S — Jalen Ramsey
S — DeShon Elliott
SPECIAL TEAMS
K — Chris Boswell
P — Cameron Johnston
Here’s how the Ranking The Steelers’ Starters series looks so far.
No. 24 — Cameron Johnston, P
No. 23 — Germie Bernard, WR
No. 22 — Spencer Anderson, RG
Now that you’re all caught up on the series and the players who will be highlighted, let’s dive into the latest piece in the Ranking The Steelers’ Starters series here at Steelers Depot, focusing on No. 21-19.
No. 21 — DYLAN COOK, RT
Stepping in for the injured Broderick Jones and the ineffective Andrus Peat last season, Dylan Cook surprised many late in the season at left tackle. He’d never taken an NFL snap until late in Week 14 against the Baltimore Ravens before then making his first start in Week 15 against the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football, and yet he performed pretty well.
Cook played 348 snaps down the stretch and into the playoffs and allowed just nine pressures and two sacks. He did struggle in the Steelers’ playoff loss to the Houston Texans, allowing three pressures and a sack, which turned into a Houston touchdown. Overall, though, Cook was solid.
Now, he’s projected to flip to the right side, where he’ll compete with rookie first-round pick Max Iheanachor for the starting job. He has good size and is still young, so there is some comfort there with Cook. But his ceiling might not be all that high.
No. 20 — KEEANU BENTON, NT
Yes, Keeanu Benton closed the season strong, finishing with a career-best 5.5 sacks, but I had him at No. 19 in the series after the playoff loss. He slides one spot here, but Benton’s future still looks pretty bright.
He’ll get a chance to take his game to another level under a new defensive line coach in Domata Peko, too. But what his fit is under new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham remains to be seen. Peko has talked about Benton playing all over the formation, while hyping up Yahya Black as a true nose, so that could limit Benton’s role.
Last season he showed real juice as a pass rusher, but he struggled defending the run time and time again. He’s in line for a big extension this offseason, too, but the role the Steelers envision for him under a new coaching staff makes things look pretty cloudy.
That said, this No. 20 ranking could look very silly once the season is over. Benton has all the talent in the world, and he showed signs of putting it together last season. If he takes another step forward, look out.
No. 19 — PAYTON WILSON, ILB
After an impressive rookie season, expectations for Payton Wilson were high entering Year 2. But then he struggled as a run defender and the takeaways dried up. Though he was effective as a blitzer, Wilson was a disappointment in Year 2.
It didn’t help that Wilson called himself the best coverage linebacker in football in training camp, raising eyebrows. Then he not only had issues in that part of his game, he was nearly unplayable at times against the run. It led to the Steelers rotating the likes of Cole Holcomb and Malik Harrison into the game to help solve the run-defense issues.
Wilson did put together a solid stat line with 126 tackles, six tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks, but those counting stats felt empty when watching him weekly. He couldn’t get off blocks, and his impressive athleticism didn’t help him win in situations where play strength was needed.
He’ll get another crack at things this season and is under a better Xs and Os coordinator in Graham. Hopefully he can bounce back in a big way.
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