Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan has taken control of this team in his first full year as the GM. The front office is swinging for the fences and made a significant number of roster moves this offseason. Many of those are on the defensive side of the football.
Last season, the Steelers took on the Cincinnati Bengals in Week One of the regular season and here is what the starting lineup looked like:
DE – Larry Ogunjobi
DT – Cameron Heyward
OLB – T.J. Watt
OLB – Alex Highsmith
ILB – Devin Bush
ILB – Myles Jack
CB – Ahkello Witherspoon
CB – Cameron Sutton
DB – Tre Norwood
FS – Minkah Fitzpatrick
SS Terrell Edmunds
For the record, even though the Steelers listed Norwood as a starter and has a nickel base defense, defensive end Chris Wormley actually played more snaps.
This season, Edmunds, Sutton, Witherspoon, Jack and Bush are gone. Wormley is as well and if we assume the Steelers open with their regular 3-4 base defense, that’s six new faces in the starting lineup. Even Norwood isn’t likely to be the team’s third safety. If Khan is right and this group comes together quickly, this defense could be elite this season.
