It’s no secret that the Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since the 2016 season, making it eight seasons and counting since they last advanced in the postseason. In order for them to finally get that monkey off their backs, they will need high-level play all over the roster.

Now, it’s important to note this isn’t the best players, though a lot of the Steelers’ best players will appear on the list, but players that Pittsburgh needs to play well in order to have the best chance at success. With that said, let’s get into it.

10. WR DK Metcalf

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He’s the only true threat at receiver that will scare opposing defenses. If he shines, the offense has a higher ceiling, and they’re paying him a ton of money to be that guy.

9. RB Kaleb Johnson

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We can throw Jaylen Warren in here, as well, but I do believe Johnson will get the majority of carries. The Steelers’ offense will revolve around the run game and rely on it to set up those play-action deep shots to DK Metcalf. If they can’t run the ball, the offense doesn’t work.

8. EDGE Alex Highsmith

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Hot take, but I think this could be Highsmith’s last year in Pittsburgh – especially if he has another year where he is just fine instead of a real impact player. The Steelers need a true difference-maker opposite T.J. Watt, and that could end up being Nick Herbig more so than Highsmith. He needs to stay healthy and he needs to have a big year.

7. CB Darius Slay

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The Steelers once again went the veteran route at CB2, but Slay can still play and is the best signing they’ve had at that specific spot of this long-running group of Ahkello Witherspoon, Patrick Peterson, Donte Jackson etc. It will be important that he can take some of the pressure, not just off Joey Porter Jr, but off the next player on the list as well.

6. S Minkah Fitzpatrick

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Splash plays are the ultimate momentum swinger, and Minkah Fitzpatrick used to be the best splash play defender in the NFL. Over the last two seasons, he’s done almost none of that. Safety play is one of those things that doesn’t show up in a box score, so I don’t want this to sound like I’m saying Fitzpatrick has played awful – he hasn’t. That said, the takeaways have taken a noticeable nosedive, and that’s hurt the way fans look at him, and has hurt the defense as a whole. The Steelers now have a better collection of players in the secondary – let Fitzpatrick get back to playing centerfield and picking off passes.

5. WR Corps

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This one is somewhat vague because we don’t know who the Steelers’ WR2 will be, but they need a lot of guys to step up. Roman Wilson was a third-round pick – go show us why. Calvin Austin had a nice year in 2024, so hopefully he can continue being a nice role player in the passing game. What can Robert Woods still do at his age? We’ll find out. Regardless of who they bring in to be that No. 2 boundary receiver, everyone needs to earn their paychecks in complementing DK Metcalf.

4. RT Troy Fautanu

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The Steelers clearly have belief in Fautanu, as they started him in Week 1 despite the Washington product not playing much in the preseason due to a knee injury. While he lasted less than a month in 2024 before suffering a season-ending injury, the former first-round pick will be trusted to get into space on wide zone runs and open up lanes for Kaleb Johnson and Jaylen Warren, while also keeping the quarterback clean.

3. LT Broderick Jones

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Now, to the other side of the offensive line. Jones hasn’t lived up to his status as a first-round pick to this point, but also hasn’t been done any favors by the coaching staff. Moving him from left tackle to right tackle so often hasn’t really let Jones get too comfortable, especially when he was drafted to be a left tackle. Jones has had a positive attitude through everything, though, and is going to be counted on to be the team’s stone wall at left tackle. Should he and Fautanu succeed, the offense will have a much better chance of flourishing.

2. EDGE T.J. Watt

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The Steelers need Watt to be dominant, which he was not in the final month of the season in 2024. In the final seven games of the year, Watt had just four sacks, and they were spread across two games. The former Defensive Player of the Year didn’t register a sack in the final three games of the year, and the Steelers’ defense as a whole struggled immensely to close out a once-promising campaign. If the Steelers really do pay Watt $40 million per year, he had better play like someone worthy of that kind of money.

1. QB Aaron Rodgers

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If you don’t have a quarterback, you don’t have anything. Rodgers may be on the final hole of his career, but is still in the upper half of starters in the NFL. While he isn’t signed yet, he’s basically got one foot in the door, and for all intents and purposes he’s going to end up in Pittsburgh. Should he be able to have a Brett Favre-esque season like his former predecessor did in 2009 with the Minnesota Vikings, the Steelers could end this postseason skid.