Steelers Defense Looks Crazy

With the sun scorching down at Saint Vincent College, the Pittsburgh Steelers took the field, welcoming plenty of new faces to Latrobe, Pennsylvania as they began their journey toward the 2025 campaign. And in one play, there was a clear dominant force for the black and gold.

The biggest takeaway of Day 1 of Steelers training camp was easy to find - the defense looks elite.

On the first pass Aaron Rodgers threw at Saint Vincent College, it was intercepted by Patrick Queen. He completed just one to DK Metcalf all afternoon, and finished his first drive with one completion on three attempts.

"It's good to get that out the way," Rodgers joked afterward. "Anybody that's watched me practice over the years. Ya know, you like to try certain throws at certain times."

From there, Cam Heyward and Derrick Harmon got their hands on batted balls. Payton Wilson looked fast and physical. And Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay and Joey Porter Jr. only looked like three pieces to a secondary that looked very, VERY elite.

The other two were Juan Thornhill and DeShon Elliott.

It's Day 1, and expectations can't be too high. There are no pads, and although the Steelers are one of the most physical teams in the NFL even in shorts and helmets, you can't full judge anything in this league until there are live reps.

From the jump, though, the defense looked even better than you thought they would.

Ramsey started in the slot, following Calvin Austin on certain plays as the team played man on a good chunk of the plays. Porter Jr. and Slay were on the outside, with Thornhill and Elliott moving around at safety. The biggest question mark of the group was Thornhill, but the former Cleveland Brown and Super Bowl champion with the Kansas City Chiefs fit right in as a starter with the group.

During his first interview with the Steelers media, Ramsey shared his excitement for the defense this season.

"You look at the defense, from the d-line, probably the best d-line in the NFL," he said. "Then you got [Patrick Queen] leading the linebackers, then the secondary. Me and [Darius] Slay have had a relationship for a while. Me and Joey [Porter Jr.], we got some kinda family ties going on. Then add me in there ... so it's a lot of excitement around the defense, but not just the defense, the offense too. Obviously [Aaron Rodgers] is here now, DK [Metcalf], who I've had a lot of battles with, that's been fun. [Robert Woods] is here, I played with him with the Rams."

It's only one day, but the hype seems to be real. And the Steelers defense - without pads - looks better than they did on paper heading into training camp.