It's said that fortune favors the bold.
If that's the case, the Steelers could be in for big things in 2025.
This offseason began with a massive trade for wide receiver DK Metcalf at the cost of a second-round draft pick.
Then came the signing of future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Earlier this week, Steelers GM Omar Khan sent shockwaves through the football world by sending All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and a 2027 fifth-round draft pick to the Miami Dolphins for All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey and Pro Bowl tight end Jonnu Smith.
When compared to the Steelers' starting lineup from their regular season opener a year ago, the team will now have 11 new starters in the lineup.
That's change. Real change.
And it's bold.
The Steelers aren't simply running things back with the same players and coaches and hoping for different results. Instead, they've made over an NFL roster about as much as you can in one offseason in an effort to bring about change.
They are not nearly done.
Per the compensatory draft picks they are expected to get when they are announced early next year and some of the trades they've made, the Steelers have 12 selections available in 2026.
Chances are, they're not going to make 12 picks.
Some of those selections will be involved in making a move to acquire a quarterback of the future. But others can be utilized to continue to fill in roster holes this season if they so choose.
As mentioned in this space a couple of weeks ago, the roster the Steelers broke minicamp with might not look like the one they enter training camp with. That's already the case.
Khan has proven to be an aggressive general manager and head coach Mike Tomlin and team president Art Rooney II also have embraced that. After eight consecutive seasons of not winning a playoff game, aggression might be just what's needed.
Khan has done a masterful job of retooling the Steelers on the fly while also putting them in position to potentially select a quarterback of the future in 2026. That's why his contract was extended on Thursday.
• The trade for Ramsey is a big one for the Steelers. Though 30, Ramsey remains one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL.
More importantly, he's extremely versed in working out of the slot.
The Steelers allowed 139 receptions for 2,003 and 10 touchdowns to receivers working out of the slot in 2024. The reception total was ninth-best in the league, which is good. But the 14.4 yards per catch was dead last in the NFL. That also amounted to 51.7 percent of the total passing yards the Steelers allowed last season.
And the 10 touchdowns accounted for nearly half of the 23 touchdown catches the team permitted.
The addition of Ramsey should help alleviate some of those issues.
It also gives the Steelers arguably the best trio of cornerbacks in the NFL and plenty of options.
The Steelers can play Ramsey and Joey Porter Jr. on early downs and bring in Darius Slay Jr. when they go nickel and dime, thus lessening the workload on the 34-year-old.
They also could utilize the versatile Ramsey at free safety at times against certain teams, thus keeping all three outstanding corners on the field at the same time.
Ramsey, like Rod Woodson so many years ago, played some safety early in their college careers, Ramsey at Florida State, Woodson at Purdue – largely because of their size. But once the coaching staff at those respective schools got a look at the athleticism both had, they decided to transition them to cornerback full-time.
It's unfortunate that the cost of making such a deal was Fitzpatrick, who was well-respected in the team's locker room and an excellent player in his own right, but the signing of free safety Juan Thornhill earlier this offseason lessens the blow.
• The addition of Smith gives the offense a serious shot in the arm.
Smith is coming off his best season in 2024, one in which he caught 88 passes for 884 yards and eight touchdowns.
Now, don't expect him to approach those numbers this season for the Steelers, but Smith has been a productive pass-catching tight end over the course of his career.
The Steelers used 13 personnel with one running back and three tight ends at the highest rate in the league last season, 15.1 percent. They used 12 personnel with two tight ends, two wide receivers and one running back 25.4 percent of the time.
That means that over 40 percent of the time, the Steelers had two ore more tight ends on the field.
That number could go up even more in 2025.
In Pat Freiermuth, who led the Steelers in receptions in 2024, and Smith, the Steelers now have two premium pass catchers at tight end.
And Darnell Washington is one of the best blocking tight ends in the league who took a big step forward as a pass catcher in 2024.
Couple that with the speed of Metcalf and Calvin Austin III on the outside, and opposing defenses are going to be put in a bind.
Play nickel against the Steelers and risk them running the ball all day. Play base and there will be a mismatch somewhere on the field in the passing game.
Remember, in 2023 with current Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith as head coach, Jonnu Smith and Kyle Pitts combined for 103 catches for 1,249 yards and six touchdowns. Drake London led the team with 69 receptions. No other wide receiver had more than 18.
And that was with Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke at quarterback.
• Dale Lolley is co-host of "SNR Drive" on Steelers Nation Radio. Subscribe to the podcast here: Apple Podcast | iHeart Podcast Pittonline@iheartmedia.com
• With so many new faces on the roster, this year's training camp is going to be extremely important.
While Rodgers was at training camp, Tomlin didn't want him to do any team activities. All he did was individual drills.
And now Ramsey and Smith will need to be brought up to speed with things … quickly.
Add in all of the other new moving pieces and it promises to be one of the more interesting Steelers training camps in quite some time.
• Over the past two seasons, the Steelers are 15-6 in one-score games. That's the third-most wins in one-score games in that span in the NFL.
The only teams with more wins in one-score games are the Eagles and Chiefs.
And the Steelers have done that despite using five different starting quarterbacks.
The one constant for the Steelers in that period has been Tomlin.
