George Pickens leads the Steelers offensive Pro Football Focus grades

The Pittsburgh Steelers began their 2022 NFL season with their first preseason matchup on Saturday night at Acrisure stadium against the Seattle Seahawks. Although there ware a number of players who did not appear in the game for the Steelers, there were plenty who got their opportunity to show what they could bring to the Steelers this season. While it was encouraging to see the offense put up 32 points, it was also discouraging to see the defense squander a 14-point lead and give up 25 points.

But how did the individual players grade out?

For this exercise, we will be looking at the player grades from Pro Football Focus (PFF) for the Steelers first preseason performance. Before going any further, I must give the typical disclaimer that PFF grades are subjective. While some people rely on them heavily, others are quite skeptical of the process in which they are determined. It is completely up to each person as to how much stock they put into PFF’s grades. For me, I often look at the grades to see if my own “eye test” lines up with what others viewed as how a player performed. If nothing more, the grades create a discussion about how accurate, or inaccurate, they are each week.

Instead of looking at the entire team at once, we break up the scores into offense and defense. Next up this week is the offense. Included will be all the players who played at least one snap and the total snap counts for each player will be included. For reference sake, the Steelers played 68 snaps on offense in their first preseason game.

Overall

Top 5 (regardless of position)

WR George Pickens: 91.2 (21 snaps)
G John Leglue: 85.3 (52 snaps)
WR Tyler Vaughns: 83.7 (16 snaps)
OT Chuks Okorafor: 79.0 (16 snaps)
WR Gunner Olszewski: 78.5 (31 snaps)

Bottom 5 (regardless of position)

WR Steven Sims: 53.6 (35 snaps)
RB Mataeo Durant: 52.7 (14 snaps)
TE Jace Sternberger: 52.3 (33 snaps)
G Kendrick Green: 51.5 (35 snaps)
OT Chaz Green : 39.6 (33 snaps)

Quarterback

QB Kenny Pickett: 74.0 (32 snaps)
QB Mitch Trubisky: 71.7 (13 snaps)
QB Mason Rudolph: 70.2 (23 snaps)

For those looking for one quarterback to stand out above the rest in the Steelers’ first preseason game, they did not get their wish. But this happened in a good way as all three quarterbacks performed well and saw hardly any separation in their PFF scores. What is interesting is despite Mason Rudolph coming in third on the list of scores that were very close, he had the best passing grade of the three with a 69.1 compared to Trubisky with 64.7 and Pickett with 63.9 for the game. It was actually Kenny Pickett’s 81.0 running grade which moved him to the top of the group. The bottom line is no quarterback did anything to eliminate themselves as a possibility to be the Steelers starter this season. For those who think one of them may have, chances are they already made the decision prior to kickoff.

Running Backs

RB Jaylen Warren: 70.1 (27 snaps)
RB Master Teague III: 68.5 (10 snaps)
RB Anthony McFarland Jr.: 68.4 (17 snaps)
RB Mataeo Durant: 52.7 (14 snaps)

While it was great to see the Steelers running backs getting positive yardage play after play, it seems the waters may have been muddied after Saturday night when it comes to both who and how many running backs the Steelers will keep on the 53-man roster. With Najee Harris sitting this game out which allowed others to showcase their talents, the biggest loser of the group is probably Benny Snell as his unavailability did him no favors. As for the players who were on the field, it was ultimately Jaylen Warren‘s 90.2 score in the passing game which moved him to the top of the list with Mataeo Durant’s 11.6 pass blocking score which dropped him to the bottom.

Receivers

WR George Pickens: 91.2 (21 snaps)
WR Tyler Vaughns: 83.7 (16 snaps)
WR Gunner Olszewski: 78.5 (31 snaps)
WR Cody White: 68.8 (30 snaps)
WR Tyler Snead: 65.1 (5 snaps)
TE Connor Heyward: 63.6 (35 snaps)
WR Miles Boykin: 60.2 (28 snaps)
TE Kevin Rader: 55.7 (24 snaps)
WR Christian Blake: 55.6 (14 snaps)
WR Steven Sims: 53.6 (35 snaps)
TE Jace Sternberger: 52.3 (33 snaps)

George Pickens continues to check the boxes as a rookie wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The first two boxes he can check off is performing well in training camp and having it translate to a preseason game. While there’s still more time to show that he is consistent in both categories, the biggest box left he still has to check will come in September when the games matter. While Pickens stood out above the rest in his NFL debut, the Steelers got quality play well down the list with seven of the 11 players scoring above the standard 60.0 starting score. Additionally, PFF had the Steelers pass catchers with only one drop on the night which they attributed to Miles Boykin.

Offensive Line

G John Leglue: 85.3 (52 snaps)
OT Chuks Okorafor: 79.0 (16 snaps)
OT Dan Moore Jr.: 75.6 (35 snaps)
C J.C. Hassenauer: 73.3 (52 snaps)
OT Joe Haeg: 70.4 (49 snaps)
C Mason Cole : 67.8 (16 snaps)
G Trent Scott: 58.6 (36 snaps)
G James Daniels: 54.6 (16 snaps)
G Kendrick Green: 51.5 (35 snaps)
OT Chaz Green : 39.6 (33 snaps)

Seeing the Steelers starting two tackles in the top six for the entire offense is an encouraging sign. While Dan Moore Jr. stood out with an 84.4 run blocking score, it was a 61.0 pass blocking score which brought him down. Although the first snap taken by Mason Rudolph stands out as a negative for Moore, it shouldn’t cloud an otherwise strong performance. And when it comes to John Leglue topping the list, it was his 91.7 run blocking score which set him apart as his pass blocking was merely 48.3 on the night. What’s even more confusing is Leglue had twice as many pass blocking snaps as he did run blocking.

While at first glance seeing the big free agent acquisitions this season on the offensive line in the bottom half of the scores is discouraging, there could be a bit of an acclamation period and seeing improvement in these two players may be what is most important. Unfortunately, Kendrick Green found himself in a familiar place towards the bottom of the list in his first game action at guard. So when it comes to offensive linemen who started the game, it was the interior players who were more of a concern.

In only 16 snaps, Chuks Okorafor had a strong performance that was also well balanced with a 79.7 pass blocking score and a 78.6 run blocking score. To me, one play in particular stood out above the rest…

So, what do you think of the above grades? Do they pass the eye test? Let us know your thoughts on the Steelers’ defensive grades in the comments below.