The Steelers defensive Pro Football Focus grades appear to be somewhat up-side-down

The Pittsburgh Steelers continued their 2022 NFL season with their second preseason matchup on Saturday night in Jacksonville against the Jaguars. Although the Steelers came away with a victory, there were still areas of concern on both sides of the ball. While it was discouraging to see the offense put up half as many points as the previous game, it was also encouraging to see the defense only surrender one touchdown and two field goals.

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 second preseason performance. Remember, these are just the grades for the Steelers for this past game and not combined with their previous 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. First up is the defense. Included will be all the players who played at least one defensive snap and the total snap counts for each player will be included. For reference sake, the Steelers played 76 snaps on defense in Saturday’s preseason game.

Overall

Top 5 (regardless of position)

CB Chris Steele: 83.9 (19 snaps)
OLB Genard Avery: 82.3 (30 snaps)
S Terrell Edmunds: 81.9 (40 snaps)
ILB Mark Robinson: 79.2 (31 snaps)
ILB Robert Spillane: 78.4 (42 snaps)
ILB Devin Bush: 78.4 (23 snaps)

Bottom 5 (regardless of position)

OLB T.J. Watt: 47.6 (12 snaps)
CB Cam Sutton: 45.9 (40 snaps)
DT Khalil Davis: 45.8 (8 snaps)
ILB Myles Jack: 44.9 (30 snaps)
S Tre Norwood: 42.7 (44 snaps)

Defensive Front Five

OLB Genard Avery: 82.3 (30 snaps)
DT Chris Wormley: 75.2 (26 snaps)
OLB Hamlicar Rashed Jr.: 75.0 (24 snaps)
DT Henry Mondeaux: 69.8 (28 snaps)
OLB Derrek Tuszka: 68.8 (35 snaps)
DT Tyson Alualu: 68.5 (17 snaps)
OLB James Vaughters: 66.8 (12 snaps)
OLB Delontae Scott: 66.6 (26 snaps)
DT Carlos Davis: 62.3 (15 snaps)
DT Larry Ogunjobi: 57.4 (22 snaps)
DT Donovan Jeter: 53.5 (32 snaps)
DT Isaiahh Loudermilk: 55.7 (5 snaps)
OLB Ron’Dell Carter: 53.1 (13 snaps)
DT DeMarvin Leal: 49.3 (38 snaps)
OLB T.J. Watt: 47.6 (12 snaps)
DT Khalil Davis: 45.8 (8 snaps)

The first thing many will take away from seeing this list is T.J. Watt at the bottom. Additionally, many fans were talking about DeMarvin Leal having a good showing yet PFF put him under 50. While it was great to see Genard Avery topping the list in his first action with the Steelers which is encouraging when it comes to depth at outside linebacker, there isn’t a lot more to take from this list other than the fact Isaiahh Loudermilk only played five snaps.

Inside Linebackers

ILB Mark Robinson: 79.2 (31 snaps)
ILB Robert Spillane: 78.4 (42 snaps)
ILB Devin Bush: 78.4 (23 snaps)
ILB Buddy Johnson: 71.8 (14 snaps)
ILB Myles Jack: 44.9 (30 snaps)

This is the position group where many people will argue the scores. Although Devin Bush looked better than last week, it still isn’t saying much. The fact that his score put him and Spillane in the top five in a tie will probably have many Steelers fans scratching their heads as it doesn’t seem to pass the eye test. And while he didn’t stand out as much as last week in his limited time, I’m not sure many believe that Myles Jack was way down in score compared to the rest. Although I didn’t really notice Buddy Johnson much on the field, I did notice Mark Robinson with the plays he was making and his spot on the top of the list makes the most sense.

Defensive Backs

CB Chris Steele: 83.9 (19 snaps)
S Terrell Edmunds: 81.9 (40 snaps)
S Damontae Kazee: 72.1 (40 snaps)
CB Carlins Platel: 71.6 (22 snaps)
CB Ahkello Witherspoon: 69.5 (40 snaps)
CB James Pierre: 67.5 (21 snaps)
CB Justin Layne: 67.1 (15 snaps)
S Minkah Fitzpatrick: 60.0 (16 snaps)
S Donovan Steiner: 53.5 (32 snaps)
CB Levi Wallace: 51.0 (31 snaps)
CB Linden Stephens: 49.5 (15 snaps)
CB Cam Sutton: 45.9 (40 snaps)
S Tre Norwood: 42.7 (44 snaps)

Going from first to worst, Tre Norwood plummeted to the bottom of the list after being the top defensive back last week. Once again he played the most defensive snaps of any player. While it’s nice to see Chris Steele with with top score when he received more snaps, I personally noticed the play of Terrell Edmunds out of this group more than anyone else. In what I found to be no surprise, Minkah Fitzpatrick gets no love from PFF as his score comes in at the 60.0 that PFF starts each player.

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.