Steelers offensive Pro Football Focus grades show areas for improvement

The Pittsburgh Steelers continued their 2022 NFL season with their final preseason matchup on Sunday in Pittsburgh against the Detroit Lions. Although the Steelers came away with a victory, there were still areas of growth to work out over the next two weeks. While it was discouraging to see the offense settle for field goals, it was also encouraging to see the defense have a shutout in the first half.

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 final preseason performance. Remember, these are just the grades for the Steelers for this past game and not combined with their previous performances. 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 64 snaps on offense in Sunday’s preseason game.

Overall

Top 5 (regardless of position)

WR Diontae Johnson: 86.0 (7 snaps)
QB Kenny Pickett: 80.4 (25 snaps)
G James Daniels: 79.1 (33 snaps)
QB Mitch Trubisky: 78.1 (33 snaps)
TE Pat Freiermuth: 75.1 (26 snaps)

Bottom 5 (regardless of position)

TE Connor Heyward: 50.4 (21 snaps)
G Kendrick Green: 50.4 (31 snaps)
QB Mason Rudolph: 47.0 (6 snaps)
G John Leglue: 44.3 (31 snaps)
WR Tyler Snead: 40.7 (15 snaps)

Quarterback

QB Kenny Pickett: 80.4 (25 snaps)
QB Mitch Trubisky: 78.1 (33 snaps)
QB Mason Rudolph: 47.0 (6 snaps)

Once again the Steelers have a good showing in the top five from the quarterback position. For the first time in the preseason, there was a quarterback in the bottom in Mason Rudolph, but only playing six snaps as a quarterback is pretty difficult to get a good feeling about their play. But seeing Pickett and Trubisky score well should be encouraging the Steelers fans. As the games went on, the top and bottom switched each week with Trubisky holding up true in the middle.

Running Backs

RB Jaylen Warren: 69.1 (14 snaps)
RB Najee Harris: 61.3 (28 snaps)
RB Benny Snell Jr.: 60.5 (10 snaps)
RB Anthony McFarland Jr.: 58.4 (12 snaps)

Despite not being scores in the 70s this week, Jaylen Warren was on the top of the running backs list every game in the preseason when it came to PFF grade. When looking at specifically the score when rushing the ball, it was once again Warren who is on top this with a 69.6 ahead of Najee Harris with a 64.8 for the game.

Receivers

WR Diontae Johnson: 86.0 (7 snaps)
TE Pat Freiermuth: 75.1 (26 snaps)
WR George Pickens: 69.7 (30 snaps)
WR Steven Sims: 66.7 (27 snaps)
WR Miles Boykin: 66.5 (30 snaps)
WR Cody White: 66.4 (16 snaps)
WR Tyler Vaughns: 65.7 (17 snaps)
TE Zach Gentry: 64.0 (16 snaps)
WR Gunner Olszewski: 58.4 (39 snaps)
TE Kevin Rader: 55.5 (7 snaps)
TE Jace Sternbergerr: 55.3 (5 snaps)
TE Connor Heyward: 50.4 (21 snaps)
WR Tyler Snead: 40.7 (15 snaps)

Although his night was cut short due to injury, Diontae Johnson led all offensive players this week despite only getting seven snaps. Pat Freiermuth landing in the top five is also encouraging and George Pickens coming in one spot out was good to see after a lower score last week. Once again, over half the unit came in with scores above the 60.0 reference line.

Offensive Line

G James Daniels: 79.1 (33 snaps)
OT Chuks Okorafor: 69.6 (33 snaps)
C J.C. Hassenauer: 69.3 (31 snaps)
OT Chaz Green: 68.5 (31 snaps)
OT Trent Scott: 67.0 (31 snaps)
C Mason Cole : 57.0 (33 snaps)
OT Dan Moore Jr.: 53.8 (33 snaps)
G Kevin Dotson: 52.0 (33 snaps)
G Kendrick Green: 50.4 (31 snaps)
G John Leglue: 44.3 (31 snaps)

Before getting into the grades, what stood out to me the most was that the unit of five offensive lineman stayed intact and played together throughout the game without the mixing of any players. Seeing James Daniels on top of the list is encouraging moving forward as perhaps he just needed some more acclamation to the team. Chuks Okorafor has also been more consistent at the top of the list throughout the process of the preseason. But being the best of this group is not the goal as this is certainly more about the collective than the individual. It’s not that every player is playing poorly on each play, but if one person does not do their job then the likelihood of success for a play plummets. Hopefully the three starters from center to left tackle can move their scores above the 60.0 line as a starting point in Week 1 and grow from there.

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.