ESPN Analyst Says Steelers Have One Clear Weakness and It Could Be a Problem for Aaron Rodgers

The Pittsburgh Steelers have spent the offseason making big headlines. Aaron Rodgers is coming to town. Mike McCarthy is back as offensive coordinator. The vibes are high in western Pennsylvania for the first time in a while.

But here’s the thing: none of that fixes the linebacker room.

ESPN rolled out its annual strengths and weaknesses breakdown for every NFL team. And for the Steelers, the weak spot is loud and clear. It’s the linebackers, specifically the ones who don’t rush the passer.

The numbers don’t look great

ESPN analyst Mike Clay went straight to the data. Pittsburgh ranked 27th in run stop win rate last season at 28.9 percent. That’s not a typo. That’s bottom-five football in one of the most fundamental things a defense does.

Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson are penciled in as the starters again. Queen was Pittsburgh’s big free agency splash two years ago, a former Ravens standout the Steelers poached to stabilize the middle of the defense. But his play slipped last season. Clay noted Queen graded 61st out of 67 qualified off-ball linebackers in Pro Football Focus metrics. The year before he was 54th out of 69. That’s a downward trend nobody wants to see.

Wilson didn’t exactly seize the job either. He had to fight for snaps. And according to Clay, Wilson struggled to hold off Cole Holcomb and Malik Harrison for playing time last season. Both of those guys are still on the roster. So the path to a bigger role isn’t automatically clear.

It’s not all bad news on the edge. T.J. Watt is still T.J. Watt. But he turns 32 this season and his sack production dropped from 19 in 2023 to just seven last year. Alex Highsmith put up 9.5 sacks and is still in his prime. But trade rumors chased him all summer. The team has not confirmed anything on that front.

Rodgers and the bigger picture

The offense is supposed to carry more weight now. Rodgers knows McCarthy’s system. George Pickens is a genuine deep threat. The offensive line added some pieces. But the defense carried this team for years. If the middle of that defense is a liability, it changes how much margin for error the offense really has.

The Steelers have time to address this before the season. Free agents are still out there. Training camp battles could shuffle the depth chart. But as of right now, one of the league’s most storied defenses has a hole right up the middle. And everyone can see it.