As we head into July, the start of the 2022 NFL season creeps ever closer. Over in the AFC North, the Pittsburgh Steelers have had one of the most action-packed offseason's the Men of Steel have seen in years. But how should we grade their offseason moves, and what should we expect from the West Pennsylvania squad this season?
Pittsburgh Steelers Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick celebrates after recovering a fumble against the Tennessee Titans on December 19, 2021. CREDIT | Matt Freed/Post-Gazette
Bleacher Report Missed Wide-Right
Bleacher Report missed big-time on their offseason assessment of the Steelers' offseason moves—at least in my humble opinion.
Bleacher Report gave the Steelers just a C+ on their offseason moves, but I have them sitting around a B overall. They got Myles Jack from the Jacksonville Jaguars, a 26-year-old LB who excels at stopping the run and is hitting his prime. They also re-signed Minkah Fitzpatrick, making him the highest-paid safety in the league—and a lot of people are questioning this. I get it, though. Sure, it is going to burn through the salary cap, but they wanted to lock him in. I wouldn't say it's an A-grade move, but I wouldn't put it under a B-grade either.
Yes, the Steelers lost some weapons in JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Washington, and Ray-Ray McCloud, knocking out three of their best five wide receivers. However, Pro Football Focus has the Steelers sitting at No. 11 when it comes to the wide receiver corps going into the 2022 season.
Furthermore, their offensive line got a massive boost by adding James Daniels. He will offer fantastic interior protection and is a steal regarding his contract. And as far as quarterbacks are concerned, sure, Ben Roethlisberger is gone, but I actually like the Mitch Trubisky pick-up.
The Steelers will have a quarterback battle on their hands at camp, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Trubisky win out and take that starting spot. They can work a talented Kenny Pickett in slowly and have Mason Rudolph to lean on in a pinch as well.
Steelers' QB Mitch Trubisky takes part in the team's OTA's (Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers)
Defensively, the only move I hate is trading Levi Wallace for Joe Haden at corner. This is one of the decisions that could immediately come back and bite the Steelers in the tail-bone pad. Now Pittsburgh doesn't have a true No. 1 Corner to put out on the field. That said, they are super strong at safety with the re-signing of Terrell Edmunds and Fitzpatrick's extension.
But even after an overall B-ranked offseason, where do they stand in the AFC North?
AFC North NFL Odds
The Steelers are dead last on the odds boards for most of the AFC North futures odds. The Steelers are +800 to win the AFC North at BetOnline.Ag, which is far behind the rest of the pack.
AFC North Futures
Baltimore Ravens +160
Cincinnati Bengals +190
Cleveland Browns +275
Pittsburgh Steelers +800
Furthermore, other than the Steelers, all of the teams in the AFC North have season wins totals of OVER/UNDER 9.5 wins. I get it when it comes to the Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals. But the Cleveland Browns are likely to be a mess again. They hopped all over that Deshaun Watson deal, but it looks like the allegations keep coming. Now, fans were thinking, it's OK, we still have Baker Mayfield ... but that may no longer be the case. Michale Balko Jr. Tweeted early on June 26th, "I'm hearing that the #Seahawks and #Browns are nearing a trade agreement that would send QB Baker Mayfield to Seattle."
I'm hearing that the #Seahawks and #Browns are nearing a trade agreement that would send QB Baker Mayfield to Seattle. pic.twitter.com/dnJUF0x7Xi
— Michael Balko (@MichaelBalkoJr) June 26, 2022
Recently, Mayfield was excused from all offseason workouts with the Browns. Obviously, the second the Browns signed Watson, the relationship between Mayfield and the Browns was broken.
Season Wins Total Odds
Baltimore Ravens -155 to go OVER 9.5 wins
Cincinnati Bengals -130 to go OVER 9.5
Cleveland Browns even at -110 to go O/U 9.5 wins
Pittsburgh Steelers even at -115 O/U 7.5 Wins
The Ravens have the talent to win the division, but I expect a similar outcome this year as the last: injuries. Last season, the Ravens had some of the most missed snaps by starters in the league. They play smash-mouth football, which will haunt them again later in the season. That said, I do think they will get ten wins.
The Bengals are likely to have a bit of a Super Bowl hangover, and I am calling a 9-win season early on for the Bengals. They won't make it back to the Super Bowl; even the Denver Broncos have better Super Bowl odds than the Bengals at this point.
We have already touched on the Browns, but they don't actually have season wins lines over at BetOnline. I had to go to a smaller oddsmaker to get their 9.5 win line. More prominent, competent books won't relist the Browns season wins line until they have a better idea of what in the actual heck is going to happen with the quarterback situation in Cleveland.
Now, the Steelers managed to squeak their way into the playoffs last year ... and I can almost guarantee that whether it be Trubisky slinging the rock, or Pickett, both will play better than Roethlisberger did last year. I like Pittsburgh to win at least 8 games during the 2022 regular season.
