It’s yet to be seen if the Steelers got better in 2024, but they certainly got faster.
When you think of the Steelers’ team-building philosophy under general manager Omar Khan, you probably first think of prioritizing the trenches — and for good reason. In Khan’s first two drafts leading the Steelers’ front office, he’s taken offensive linemen in the first round both times, even taking three in the first four rounds in 2024.
But there’s been another trend in Khan’s roster construction that has appeared in 2024: an emphasis on speed.
In that case, it’s less of a philosophy than it is a reaction. The Steelers were noticeably slow in 2024, lacking true speedsters on either side of the ball beyond depth receiver Calvin Austin III, who only recorded 17 catches and a touchdown in 2023.
Instead, the Steelers’ roster was full of players like Allen Robinson, Patrick Peterson, and Levi Wallace — all somewhat solid, but well below average in terms of speed at their respective positions. The issue compounded later in the season as injuries decimated the Steelers defense, forcing the team to turn to players such as Eric Rowe, Mykal Walker, and Myles Jack. They provided some quality snaps, but were still clearly a step behind the athleticism of modern NFL offenses.
In the 2024 offseason, Khan has clearly focused on making sure that doesn’t happen again. The team jettisoned Peterson and Wallace in free agency and brought in Donte Jackson, a veteran corner with a decent overall profile but undeniably blazing 4.32 speed.
In the middle of their defense, the team upgraded with the addition of Patrick Queen (4.5 speed), one of the most athletic linebackers in the league. In the draft, they added another linebacker in Payton Wilson (4.43 speed), an athletic freak himself who once hit 23 miles per hour in-game while chasing down a runner while at NC State.
On offense, the Steelers’ need for speed has been even more apparent. Pittsburgh released Allen Robinson and added four receivers that ran sub-4.4-second 40-yard dashes coming out of college in Van Jefferson, Quez Watkins, Roman Wilson, and Scotty Miller. Watkins and Miller especially are known as deep threats who can take the top off a defense. Add Calvin Austin’s 4.32 to that mix, and you have a wide receiver depth chart that can flat-out fly behind George Pickens, who is quite the downfield threat himself.
If quarterback Russell Wilson’s deep ball is anything close to what it used to be, the Steelers’ vertical offense might be a lot of fun to watch this season.
It’s unlikely that the five receivers just mentioned will all make the Steelers’ 53-man roster in 2024, but the majority will, adding a heavy dosage of athleticism to the depth chart. Compare that to 2023, where not one of the Steelers’ top three receivers ran under a 4.47 coming out of college.
The takeaway here isn’t that all the names mentioned are expected to be premier players in 2024 — the Steelers still need help at receiver and corner — but rather that there’s been a concentrated effort to fill out the roster with top-notch speed, even by NFL standards. The upgrades in that category, especially in the team’s receiver and linebacker rooms, cannot be understated enough. The Steelers won’t just be bigger and tougher in 2024. They’ll be significantly faster, too.