Since the end of the 2016 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have sparingly looked like a team that’s a true top-shelf contender. Sure, a 13-3 2017 campaign was nice and 2020’s 12-4 record looked good on paper, but it’s been nearly a decade since Mike Tomlin’s crew resembled a Super Bowl group.
This offseason is the franchise’s attempt to change that. Aaron Rodgers is in at quarterback, and he has a stud wideout to throw to in DK Metcalf. Not only that, but Pittsburgh’s defense is shaping up to be solid once again. If everything clicks, a championship is the ceiling, right?
Not so fast, says Frank Schwab of Yahoo Sports. In his ongoing NFL power rankings series, Schwab slots the Steelers in at 20th. Writing that Rodgers’ time in Pittsburgh “might not be that interesting,” Schwab delivered a brutal assessment of the team’s 2025 outlook.
Yahoo’s Power Rankings Consider Steelers ‘Average’ in 2025
Schwab didn’t hold back when analyzing the Steelers, citing their seemingly obvious floor but seriously questioning their ceiling.
“The Steelers have established what they are since Ben Roethlisberger retired (and even in his last season), and that’s as a middle-of-the-road team hoping to get one of the final spots in the playoffs, with an uncompetitive one-and-done stay in the postseason,” Schwab wrote. “There’s probably no NFL team with a smaller gap between its ceiling and floor. Rodgers is very unlikely to have some throwback MVP-level season either. An average season from Rodgers — which would be better than every other quarterback his age aside from Tom Brady — seems like the most plausible outcome. When you put an average quarterback on an average team, you’re probably getting an average result.”
Should Rodgers deliver good-but-not-great production, it’d likely leave Pittsburgh in a very familiar boat.
“For all of the headlines that preceded Rodgers signing with the Steelers, we’ll be left wondering if it was all worth it,” Schwab concluded.
Steelers Desperately Need to Avoid Mediocrity for Sake of Future
Unfortunately for the Steelers, something similar to Rodgers’ most recent effort may not be enough. In a conference with elite quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson, firepower is oftentimes needed to win big. If Rodgers is more like a C.J. Stroud or Bo Nix caliber of player, it places additional pressure on the rest of the team to be perfect.
Although Pittsburgh has enjoyed a nice offseason, this roster is far from perfect. Swapping George Pickens out for Metcalf isn’t answering questions about the rest of the wideout room. Getting tight end Jonnu Smith and cornerback Jalen Ramsey is nice, yet it came at the cost of losing longtime star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. The Steelers need good fortune – and then some – to get where they want to go.
It’s far from impossible, but it’s a calculated risk. Tomlin and newly-extended general manager Omar Khan aren’t going anywhere, and that’ll keep things from bottoming out. For an organization craving improvement, though, fans will hope Schwab’s take on the ceiling turns out to be incorrect.
