Steelers sacks leader Nick Herbig has been the poster boy for development this season. His growth resulted in the team announcing him as one of "12 starters" before last Sunday's game at Acrisure Stadium.
But there's a quartet of other players who were discussed by their respective offensive and defensive coordinators as being part of the Steelers' recent surge throughout a three-game winning streak.
Let's look at them alphabetically:
SPENCER ANDERSON
A seventh-round draft pick in 2023, this versatile offensive lineman started four games in 2024, three of them as the early-season replacement for injured Isaac Seaumalo at left guard. Anderson was also an early replacement in the fourth game for James Daniels at right guard after Daniels' first-quarter injury. Anderson also played sporadically as a sixth offensive lineman in the jumbo package throughout the season, including a Week 11 start in the win over the Baltimore Ravens.
The jumbo package, for the most part, went unused early this season, but it's been a big part of the Steelers' game plan the last two weeks. After playing in only nine offensive snaps the first three weeks, Anderson has played in 19 and then 17 the last two games against the Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns.
The Steelers' run game, coincidentally, has improved significantly. They rushed for 189 yards at 2.8 yards per carry the first three games; 231 yards at 4.5 yards per carry the last two with the increased use of Anderson and the jumbo package.
"It's not just that package. It's a lot of them," offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said of the improvement on the line.
Smith hinted at further expansion of Anderson's role. After all, QB Aaron Rodgers said a few weeks ago that Anderson has good hands and that he'd like to throw him a pass. Smith talked about Anderson's overall athletic ability as an open-field blocker.
"It's just expanding on that, our plan of attack," Smith said. "We had several passes when Spence was out there. Spence got into space on a checkdown. He was lead-blocking out in space. It wasn't just play-action. Some of them were, but that one he was out in space. It was a dropback and then he was lead-blocking for a checkdown. I think you saw Spence's athleticism there in space.
"There are new wrinkles every week. Like I said, Spence is a unique weapon. We use everything we have at our disposal. ... See how the game goes Thursday night."
DERRICK HARMON
This year's first-round pick was named a starter in the spring, but missed the first two games with a knee injury. His return coincided with a decided uptick in the Steelers' pass pressure.
Without the 21-year-old defensive tackle, the Steelers had only three sacks in two games. With Harmon, the Steelers have sacked QBs 17 times, including two by Harmon.
"It's good to get him back," said defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. "Each week he's gotten better. Missed some time, and, like all rookies, there is always going to be a learning curve in there. But what I've seen is a guy who is exactly what we thought he was when we drafted him.
"He's going to be a good pass-rusher, really big and stout versus the run. He's got a really high football IQ, and, really, he's got a big, big ceiling. I like D. Harmon. He's serious about his work. He doesn't mess around. You can just look at him and see his goal is to be a heck of a football player in this league, and he's on his way."
Harmon returned to play in 35 snaps in each of his first two games, before joining the starting lineup against the Cleveland Browns and participating in 48 snaps. Coincidentally, that was the best defensive game of the season for the Steelers, with only nine points and 248 yards allowed.
"We added a lot of new pieces in the offseason," Austin said. "And you know, you start playing games early and we needed some time probably to just get out there and jell a little bit."
PATRICK QUEEN
Queen isn't one of this year's new pieces, but he's in his second season in Pittsburgh after being signed away from the Baltimore Ravens in free agency. Last year was his first as the defensive play caller (green dot), and Coach Mike Tomlin said this week that Queen has understandably needed time to become acclimated to the new level of leadership. And his play has picked up significantly of late.
"Boy, he just is really coming along," said Austin. "He's been playing well. I think there is a comfort level now in this defense. Being the green dot, he and I are always talking and he feels really comfortable about doing the job and doing the task at hand. So, he's really playing fast right now and it really shows."
Queen has played in all but five Steelers defensive snaps this season. In the first two games, he made 14 combined tackles with two QB hits. During the three-game winning streak, the inside linebacker has made 30 combined tackles with a sack, four tackles for loss, and three passes defensed.
"You watch last week and the week before, I mean, he just kind of jumps off the film at you in terms of his speed and violence. And we need that. That's why we got him," Austin said. "It's good to see that he's really starting to feel comfortable and confident in that regard. He's always been a confident player, but you know how it is. Sometimes you get into a new system it takes you a while to really get your feet on the ground and going. He's got it going right now."
According to Next Gen Stats, the Steelers lead the NFL in max blitzing (six or more pass-rushers) at 20.5 percent of snaps. That's five percentage points higher than the next highest team. Queen is one of the key pieces in that Steelers blitz game.
"It's a violent game, and so you've got to play it that way," Austin said. "We try to play within the rules and play as violently as possible. I think when your green dot guy – the guy talking to the defense every day – is leading that charge, it does everything. It's no different than a quarterback. When the quarterback steps in the huddle and the guys believe him and the things he's talking, and he's showing it, they're going to do it, come right along with him, and I think our guys are doing it as well."
DARNELL WASHINGTON
Another plum from the 2023 draft class, Washington, the massive third-round tight end, has always been a good blocker. But now his blocking's bordering on great, and he's also becoming a key piece of the passing attack.
While Washington did catch a conversion pass in Week 2, he didn't catch a pass officially throughout the first three games. But his workload increased significantly in the last two games with the increased use of the jumbo package. Washington played in 48 and 47 snaps the last two games as the run game improved dramatically. Washington also caught three passes in back-to-back games for the first time in his career, including a career-long 36-yarder to open Sunday's win over the Browns.
"If you look at Jonnu (Smith), because I had him his first couple years, he really made a leap in Year Three, Year Four," said Smith. "I think you're seeing a lot of that from Darnell as well."
In his first season, Washington caught seven passes for 61 yards. Last season, he caught 19 passes for 200 yards. After a slow start this season, Washington has six catches for 92 yards.
He's becoming a receiving weapon while also blocking like a third tackle.
"It's hard to find a comp(arison)," Smith said. "He continues to get better. It's really cool to see his growth and development. Sometimes when you are looking at the film and he's in his stance, he looks bigger than Troy (Fautanu) or Broderick (Jones), and then you put Spence and him together it's unique and it's good to see. We have a good group of unselfish guys."
Smith was asked for the specifics of Washington's development as a blocker.
"Just the subtle stuff with the footwork, hand placement," Smith said. "Sometimes you're the biggest, strongest guy out there in high school ... (now) every snap you're going against really good players. It's not just about brute force sometimes because the guys are so good with their hands, you know, just the leverage and subtle nuances."
