Mike McCarthy likes Steelers’ QB room as roster decisions loom
Head coach Mike McCarthy says all four Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks have played well enough to earn roster consideration heading into final cuts.
Before the Pittsburgh Steelers open their season Sept. 13 against the Atlanta Falcons, it’s time for some prognosticating.
First-year coach Mike McCarthy has remade the team’s roster in significant ways since the last time this team walked off the field at Acrisure Stadium following a first-round playoff loss to the Houston Texans.
Here’s what we expect for his group as it looks to win its first playoff game since 2017.
Offensive MVP – DK Metcalf
The pieces are in place around the former Pro Bowl receiver to have a lot more success than he did in his first season in Pittsburgh, when he caught 59 passes for 850 yards and six touchdowns. McCarthy is a pass-first guy in a way former offensive coordinator Arthur Smith most certainly was not. Michael Pittman Jr. has been brought in as a credible No. 2 who can draw coverage away from his teammate. And second-round pick Germie Bernard has the upside to eventually force defenses to account for him, too. Throw in Aaron Rodgers’ steady hand at quarterback, and Metcalf’s first 1,000-yard season since 2023 should be realistic if he stays healthy, but there’s also room to run beyond that toward his 2020 career high of 1,303 yards.
Defensive MVP – Derrick Harmon
In the 13 games the former first-round pick played last season as a rookie, opponents averaged 96.7 rushing yards per game. In the five games he missed, they averaged 165.6. That’s incredible impact on a defense on its own. If he can improve his pass rush production even modestly, he will be indispensable to defensive coordinator Patrick Graham’s unit. Harmon totaled 23 pressures last season, per Pro Football Focus data. Veteran defensive line teammate Cam Heyward, by comparison, had 53. Harmon doesn’t quite need to get there, but a jump to the upper 30s or low 40s while keeping up the run-stuffing performance would go a long way toward establishing himself as a regular Pro Bowler.
Offensive rookie of the year – Germie Bernard
No reason to get too cute here. The Steelers selected the Alabama product in the second round because they needed immediate help at receiver, and Bernard offers the inside/outside versatility the corps has lacked for some time. As long as Pittman and Metcalf are healthy, most of Bernard’s opportunities will come as a slot receiver. He’ll compete with Roman Wilson for those duties. At 6-foot-1, though, Bernard has three inches on his diminutive teammate that should give him the edge for starting reps on the outside if one of his taller and more established teammates gets hurt over the course of a long season.
Defensive rookie of the year – Gabriel Rubio
Not many choices here, as the Steelers only selected three defensive players in their 10-player draft class back in April. Rubio, a sixth-round choice, is the closest to seeing the field as the top backup to Harmon. In the preseason, he registered five stops, defined by PFF as plays that result in failure for opposing offenses. Only linebacker Elandon Roberts had more. Third-round choice Daylen Everette is buried behind Joey Porter Jr., Asante Samuel Jr. and Jamel Dean on the depth chart at outside cornerback. Then has Jalen Ramsey and Brandin Echols to contend with at the nickel spot. Seventh-round pick Robert Spears-Jennings could be the odd man out when safety DeShon Elliott returns from injured reserve.
Biggest offensive disappointment – Roman Wilson
Rodgers has already publicly called him out for making the same mistakes coming off a season in which he caught just 12 passes for 166 yards. He drew scrutiny of his execution on a pair of interceptions that Will Howard threw against the New York Jets during the preseason. Beyond stray social media posts about how good he looked at training camp, there’s little sign that a breakout is coming from the former third-round pick now entering his third season. It seems more likely than not that the Steelers are simply going to prefer to have Bernard’s size on the field in any circumstance where they have a choice.
Biggest defensive disappointment – Inside linebackers
Patrick Queen is playing this season without a contract for 2027, and there were multiple offseason reports of the team exploring its trade options with him. Payton Wilson has yet to distinguish himself as a natural successor. He had two or fewer tackles in four of the Steelers’ final five games last season. Something has to change, or these will be the guys who have fans screaming at their TVs most.
Record prediction, season outcome
The optimist’s case for this team is that it has no glaring weaknesses. GM Omar Khan shored up the receivers room with Pittman and Bernard. The defense improved significantly against the run compared to where it was at the end of 2024. The offensive line has made progress and includes third-year players Troy Fautanu, Mason McCormick and Zach Frazier, who should be stepping into their respective primes. It’s a better team on paper than the group that won the AFC North last season.
The pessimist’s case is that this roster, broadly, lacks obvious stars at the height of their powers. Rodgers, Heyward, T.J. Watt and Jalen Ramsey are all aged. Metcalf hasn’t put it all together in a while. Pittman, Harmon, Jaylen Warren, Joey Porter Jr., Nick Herbig, Alex Highsmith and perhaps a half-dozen names have all shown the ability to be good, but not yet great.
We’ll predict one win of improvement from 10-7 to 11-6, but yet another first-round playoff loss unless someone or someones emerge as legitimate reasons to pick them over conference favorites Buffalo, Baltimore and Kansas City. We’ll say the Steelers finish second in the AFC North, expecting either the Ravens or Bengals will be sunk by a Lamar Jackson or Joe Burrow injury as they have for four of the last five years.