Pittsburgh Steelers fans are tough on their team. There’s no denying that. Same with the press. It’s always been that way and it always will be. This offseason has been no different as fans and pundits haven’t been exactly optimistic about some of the best players on the team. Here are the three most underrated guys on the team based on the unfair criticism they take.
RB Najee Harris
In his first two NFL seasons, Najee Harris has amassed 2,234 rushing yards, 696 receiving yards and scored 20 touchdowns. Averaging 1,465 yards of offense and 10 touchdowns a year should put Harris in the talk of the elite backs in the NFL but instead, it is always about what he doesn’t do or the expectation of being a first-round pick.
WR Diontae Johnson
The notion of Diontae Johnson dropping more passes than many of the other top receivers in the NFL is completely overblown. Johnson had eight drops in 2022 on 147 targets. By comparison Jets receiver Garrett Wilson had 10 on the same number of targets and Bengals star Ja’Marr Chase had 10 drops on only 134 targets.
EDGE Alex Highsmith
Last season, when Alex Highsmith was having a career season, the criticism of him was he only got those sacks because T.J. Watt was injured. When the truth is Highsmith got most of his sacks when Watt was healthy. Which opens the door for a completely different set of criticism. Now Highsmith is working on a contract extension which will put even more pressure on him. Highsmith is an elite pass rusher who is only getting better and we expect a huge season from him, contract or not.
