Steelers Top Three Players Include New Name

While there appears to more skepticism than usual about the Pittsburgh Steelers heading into the 2025 campaign, their top-end talent matches up well with just about every other team in the league.

While running through each squad's top three players, Pro Football Focus' Trevor Sikkema identified edge rusher T.J. Watt, defensive lineman Cameron Heyward and wide receiver DK Metcalf as the Steelers' triumvirate.

"Watt posted a three-year WAR total of 1.24 and averaged 0.41 per season, ranking sixth among edge defenders," Sikkema wrote. "At 35, Heyward still produced a 90.1 overall grade and an 85.9 pass-rush grade, marking his third career elite season. Metcalf joins Pittsburgh this year after earning a 0.32 WAR in 2024 and should have an immediate impact."

Watt and Heyward are no strangers to this conversation, as the pair has wreaked havoc together for nearly a decade at this point.

Pittsburgh's all-time leader in sacks with 108, Watt finished the 2024 season with 11.5 while also pacing the entire league with six forced fumbles. Though he did not record a quarterback takedown in four of the team's last five regular season games, he still finished fourth in AP Defensive Player of the Year voting and was a second-team All-Pro.

As he enters the final year of a four-year, $112 contract, however, there's some questions about his future with the Steelers. The edge rusher market has exploded this offseason, with Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns leading the way on a $160 million pact spread over four years, and there's been little traction on that front thus far for Watt.

Heyward, who ranks second behind Watt with 88.5 sacks across 14 seasons in Pittsburgh, logged 8 with 71 tackles and 60 pressures, per Pro Football Focus, en route to his fourth first-team All-Pro nod this past season.

Metcalf profiles as Pittsburgh's longterm No. 1 wide receiver following his trade over from the Seattle Seahawks this offseason. The 27-year-old, who also agreed to a four-year, $132 million extension, has posted 6,324 yards and 48 touchdowns in 97 career games.

With George Pickens no longer in the mix after being sent to the Dallas Cowboys, Metcalf should garner more than his fair share of targets from whoever plays quarterback for the Steelers this upcoming year.