Do the Steelers really have 24/25 starters on their roster?

Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert and head coach Mike Tomlin spoke to a exclusive media contingent over the weekend. One of the biggest takeaways was when the Steelers outgoing General Manager (GM) said he believed the team’s roster is just one starter away from being complete. This ultimately would raise some eyebrows for many reasons. Of course, the Steelers need a strong safety, but you could argue the team still needs a starter in the wide receiving corps, a contingency plan for Stephon Tuitt, and an upgrade at cornerback would be nice.

Let’s say the Steelers address the hole at strong safety. Does fixing that position make this team a contender right now? I think we would all agree the answer is no. I think we would also agree there still are some massive flaws within this roster.

The most obvious issue pops up with the Steelers third wide receiver spot on the depth chart. In today’s pass-heavy league, only having two NFL receivers is not good enough, especially when you have a reclamation project as your quarterback. The Steelers do not have enough talent at receiver, and the team can’t wait until the middle of the draft to take one. If it comes down to it, and the roster is barely changed at the draft, the Steelers may be forced into using their first round pick to add talent at the receiver position, or you could argue they are setting Mitchell Trubisky up for failure.

The language that Kevin Colbert used was also something which should catch fans’ attention. Why should you ever be satisfied with just having starting caliber players on your roster? In today’s day and age you always need to have upgrading the team/roster on your mind.

The Pittsburgh Steelers could still upgrade a number of their starting positions. The offensive line is still a work in progress, and the defensive line is getting old with a ton of question marks. Just filling all of the ‘starting’ jobs really isn’t enough. Look at the LA Rams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as recent Super Bowl winners, they loaded up the roster and made a big swing at the title. That’s what every other team is trying to recreate now. With stacked rosters throughout the AFC, and AFC North, the Steelers won’t be able to compete unless they can get to a place where they can make the same type of moves.

Long story short, there is a strong chance the fan base could be slightly disappointed with how the rest of this roster rounds itself out. We know the Steelers need more depth and talent in a few places. But what do you think? Are you satisfied with the Steelers just filling their starting positions? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.