Pittsburgh Steelers: 5 Most important players for the 2019 season

The Pittsburgh Steelers have plenty of Pro Bowlers, but these five players will be the most important to the team’s success in 2019.

Eight Pittsburgh Steelers were selected to the Pro Bowl last year. No other team in the AFC sent that many players to Orlando. Needless to say, the Steelers have plenty of great players on their team, even taking into account some offseason departures.

While the whole roster is incredibly talented, today’s focus will be on five key players who will be the most important to Pittsburgh’s success this coming season. Every team has a few core players who ultimately decide how well their team will perform. The Steelers are no different.

Before we begin, it’s noteworthy that I tried to include a defensive back because the secondary has been killing the Steelers for the past several seasons.

While it’s important that a corner or safety steps up and takes charge in 2019, I wasn’t able to overlook the other building blocks Pittsburgh has set in place. The team does need to add a coverage player who can become part of that essential core, but the Steelers just don’t have that player right now.

Maurkice Pouncey also deserves a big shout out. The All-Pro center doesn’t get the love and respect he deserves outside of Steelers nation. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to include Pouncey on the list because I didn’t want to stack it with offensive players. It’s pretty clear that when Pouncey doesn’t play the Steelers are a different team. What he’s done for the offense when it comes to enabling the run or protecting the passer is incredible.

With those exclusions out of the way, let’s get into the five most crucial pieces to the Steelers’ success in 2019.