G. Bennett’s “Way Too Early” 2021 Pittsburgh Steelers 53-man roster prediction
Coming at you with an early… and I mean early, 53-man roster prediction for 2021. The Steelers are coming off a strong 2020 regular season along with a poor postseason. Many changes have come in this offseason: releases, retirements, free agency departures/acquisitions, and draft picks.
Let’s start with releases and retirements. The most notable retirement is fan favorite, Maurkice Pouncey. The second retirement which is also very notable… another fan favorite, Vance McDonald.
Are these two irreplaceable? No.
Pouncey a couple of years ago? Sure. It is never easy to replace a franchise center, but Pouncey’s level of play dwindled dramatically the last 2 seasons.
The lone release of this offseason is Steven Nelson, or should I say, “most hated player on Steelers Twitter”. Now, this brought speculation and controversy for everyone. It was surprising to some but if you looked at the Steelers situation, it wasn’t as surprising as you would think.
The same people complaining about releasing Nelson were also saying that the Steelers should consider releasing Joe Haden.
While they both played great last season, Joe is the much better cornerback. When I say, “much better”, I mean so much better that I don’t even think that the Steelers front office considered it.
Free Agents
Now we can look at free agent re-signings. Looking at signings I am including player’s contracts that ended after the playoffs (JuJu Smith-Schuster/Cameron Sutton). The favorite for 90% of Steelers fans is JuJu Smith-Schuster and coming in a close second, Cameron Sutton.
An underrated signing that I was fuming about because he almost signed with Jacksonville is Mr. Tyson Alualu. Keeping Alualu in Pittsburgh was huge… not only because of his talent but because the depth at the position is poor.
Other notable players that were re-signed include:
Robert Spillane, Vince Williams, Zach Banner, Marcus Allen, Josh Dobbs, Chris Wormley, Cassius Marsh, Ray-Ray McCloud, J.C. Hassenauer, and Jordan Berry.
Free Agent departures include:
Bud Dupree, Mike Hilton, Matt Feiler, Alejandro Villanueva, Avery Williamson, Jayrone Elliot, Olasunkanmi Adeniyi, James Conner, Sean Davis, Jordan Dangerfield, and Jerald Hawkins.
Free Agent acquisitions:
Miles Killebrew, Rashaad Coward, Kalan Ballage, Joe Haeg, Dwayne Haskins, Tyler Simmons, Matthew Sexton, Jarvis Miller, Abdullah Anderson, Matthew Sexton, Jamir Jones, and T.J. Carter.
Since we are all familiar with the Steelers 2021 draft picks and UDFAs we can skip over that and jump into the 53-man roster.
Quarterbacks
So we all agree on one and two correct? Three is where you will see different predictions. While I understand that Haskins has “potential”, I never believed that signing was what others believed it was.
Joshua Dobbs brings more to the table overall as the third-string QB, plus Ben loves him.
Running backs
- Najee Harris
- Benny Snell
- Anthony McFarland
I’m not sure if the Steelers carry four running backs at all this season: Ballage and Samuels are the obvious two guys looking in.
While I am a fan of Samuels, he brings nothing to the table from a special teams perspective. The first three are no-brainers. One of the two will drop to the practice squad and the other will be on another roster.
Fullbacks
Is there any need to explain why? Other than the fact they are paying him too much money? Derek Watt obviously makes the 53 and contributes on special teams… and hopefully offensively this year.
Wide Receivers
- JuJu Smith-Schuster
- Diontae Johnson
- Chase Claypool
- James Washington
- Ray-Ray McCloud
The Steelers should carry 6 receivers, especially with how much they throw the ball across the middle. Hopefully, with a new coordinator and a bell-cow running back, we avoid injuries to our “Tik-Tok Stars”.
There are too many needs at other positions with too much talent at this position. Steelers will carry a few receivers on the practice squad.
Tight Ends
- Eric Ebron
- Pat Freiermuth
- Zach Gentry
The Steelers used a high draft pick on Freiermuth and expect productivity, obviously, Ebron is the number one. The third spot is up for grabs to Gentry and Rader.
Rader brings more value to the team, especially on the special teams side of the ball. I’m not sure the Steelers are ready to admit they wasted a pick on Gentry. Gentry is my pick over Rader.
Offensive Line
- David DeCastro
- Kevin Dotson
- Kendrick Green
- Chuks Okorafor
- Zach Banner
- Joe Haeg
- Dan Moore Jr.
- Rashaad Coward
- J. Finney
I expected the Steelers to add a higher-end veteran to the offensive line in free agency after the draft. They haven’t… I’m not sure these nine are even in question.
All of draft picks will be on the team and the free-agent acquisitions bring nice depth with starter potential.
The odd guy out here is J.C. Hassenauer… there is no room on the roster and he just doesn’t have the talent necessary. A new and revamped offensive line, let’s hope they protect seven.
Defensive Line
- Cameron Heyward
- Stephon Tuitt
- Tyson Alualu
- Chris Wormley
- Isaiahh Loudermilk
- Isaiah Buggs
- Carlos Davis
The starters are the same as last year, and there aren’t many changes at all. The only change here is Loudermilk slides in over Mondeaux. Mondeaux should never touch the field on defense ever again… on any team.
Edge Rushers
- T.J. Watt
- Alex Highsmith
- Quincy Roche
- Cassius March/Free Agent Addition
We all know Watt and Highsmith will be starting. We also all hope that Roche is a good rotational edge rusher who develops nicely behind these two. The fourth spot is a real issue, Cassius Marsh shouldn’t see any snaps outside of special teams. That leaves no depth if an injury occurs.
I expect the Steelers to add an edge rusher before the season starts and that moves Marsh off the roster.
Linebackers
- Devin Bush
- Robert Spillane
- Vince Williams
- Marcus Allen
- Buddy Johnson
A strong group. Spillane showed promise, Vince Williams is starter caliber, and Devin Bush is your premier guy. Hopefully Bush is going to come back from rehab strong and lead the middle of the defense. Marcus Allen is a versatile piece and Buddy Johnson brings depth with upside.
Cornerbacks
- Joe Haden
- Cameron Sutton
- James Pierre
- Justin Layne
- Shakur Brown
This list has the most potential out of everything to change. James Pierre is my favorite to fit in the slot but (S) Arthur Maulet may slide there as well. Then comes the depth, realistically I think Justin Layne makes the roster even after his arrest. I also believe Shakur Brown has great upside and will be the only UDFA to make the roster.
Safeties
- Minkah Fitzpatrick
- Terrell Edmunds
- Arthur Maulet
- Miles Killebrew
- Tre Norwood
I think this list is set in stone. I would usually only have 4 safeties listed but with the versatility of Maulet and him moving all over the field, I have 5 here including late-round draft pick, Tre Norwood. Miles Killebrew brings special team firepower and versatility. I do expect Maulet to see more snaps “out of position”.
Special Teams
- Chris Boswell (Kicker)
- Pressley Harvin III (Punter)
- Kameron Canaday (Long Snapper)
The only change here is this year’s seventh-round draft pick, Pressley Harvin III. PH3 easily beats out Jordan Berry and sends bombs down the field to help the starting field position game in 2021. Thanks for the memories Jordan Berry, but you couldn’t place the ball within the five-yard line to save your life.
Final Thoughts
An interesting twist to the roster we see now that there were many departures and a couple of retirements.
While the offensive line is a big question mark for many, I believe the line has been revamped and expect them to protect Ben and help pave the way for Najee Harris to be a franchise back. My biggest question marks at the moment are the cornerbacks and how they will utilize Maulet but I think these predictions are accurate.
I’d be pleased with this as the 53-man come August, let’s hope for an injury-free offseason.
Let me know your thoughts on Twitter. Where do you see Arthur Maulet fitting in the most? Do you see Shakur Brown making the final cut? Will the Steelers carry four running backs this year? Thanks for following along!
