Which Steeler will take a big step forward in the upcoming season?
It’s the season of OTAs and training camp hype in the NFL, where teams and players are advertising the best version of themselves yet.
But how much of that hype is real?
PFF’s Bradley Locker recently put together an article on his predicted “all-breakout team” in the NFL this upcoming season, and one Steeler made the list: second-year offensive tackle Troy Fautanu.
Fautanu only played in one regular season game as a rookie due to a knee injury, but expectations are high as he prepares to start at right tackle in 2025. Here’s what Locker wrote:
Even in that extremely limited sample size in 2024, Fautanu amassed a 69.3 PFF pass-blocking grade, allowing only two pressures on the road against the Broncos — one of the NFL’s best defenses and pass rushes a season ago. Fautanu seemed to extend his terrific play from his final college season in which he posted an 88.2 PFF pass-blocking grade with a 97.9 pass-blocking efficiency.
Who do you think will be the Steelers’ breakout player in 2025?
Fautanu will be a popular pick, and he’d probably be mine as well, so I decided to try and go in a different direction. How about linebacker Payton Wilson?
Also a member of the Steelers’ 2024 draft class, Wilson saw a lot of playing time as a rookie and looked like the real deal athletically. One of the biggest questions on his pre-draft profile, health, was also a non-issue with Wilson appearing in every game of the season.
Watching Payton Wilson vs. the run. Really impressed with his range. Bright future for the #Steelers linebacker pic.twitter.com/mxHZbPqyGh
— Ryland Bickley (@_Ryland_B) May 28, 2025
Off-ball linebacker is a notoriously tough position to learn in the NFL, and Wilson was far from a perfect player last season (you can read our full breakdown of his rookie year here), but he showed the physical tools and requisite effort to be an impact player down the road. He’s also bulked up a bit at OTAs, which is a good sign. Wilson was fine, but not necessarily sturdy last year against the run.
Entering his second year, I’m expecting a noticeable jump from the young linebacker as he becomes a bigger part of the Pittsburgh defense.
Who do you think will be the Steelers’ breakout player in 2025? Join the BTSC community and let us know in the comments!