The last time the Pittsburgh Steelers had the benefit of top-tier quarterback play, it was the 2020 season, when Ben Roethlisberger completed 446 of 676 passes for 4,304 yards, 37 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, and a passer rating of 93.2. It was the last season in which the Steelers won the AFC North. It was also the first of four times since that the Steelers were bounced out of the postseason in the Wild Card round.
Since then, through Big Ben’s inevitable end, and the Kenny Pickett thing that didn’t work out, and the Russell Wilson/Justin Fields thing that didn’t quite get there, and the three straight seasons from 2021-2023 that the team managed winning seasons with negative point differentials (a truly remarkable feat), it’s been about building everything else up as much as possible, and hoping that the quarterbacks can hold just enough water.
In today’s NFL, that just doesn’t work. The last time any team won the Super Bowl with iffy quarterback play, it was the 2015 Broncos with Zombie Peyton Manning, and one of the best defenses in recent league history.
So now, there is the Aaron Rodgers experience, and the hope that Rodgers can raise all the boats around him.
“I think it starts with Mike Tomlin,” Pittsburgh’s new quarterback said on Tuesday, when asked why this was the right fit for him. “I’ve been a fan of his for a long time. There’s a few iconic franchises in the NFL. I played for one of them for 18 years. This is another one of those. There’s something special about obviously this area. So many great quarterbacks are from Pittsburgh. I feel like Pittsburgh has been a part of my career from the beginning, playing for Mike McCarthy for 13 years, having Tom Clements, or Tommy Clements, depending how old you are, as my quarterback coach forever, Dom Capers, Kevin Greene, Darren Perry, Derrick McAdoo, Frank Cignetti, Luke Getsy.
“I don’t want to forget anybody, but a lot of Yinzers in my life.”
If Rodgers is to be the man who can indeed take things to the heights that longtime Steelers fans are used to, he will need help around him, as any quarterback does. In the continuation of our “Hidden Gems” series, we look at one underrated veteran, one underrated free-agent signing, and one underrated draft pick for the 2025 season — three new and experienced Yinzers ready to elevate their own games.
Underrated Veteran: WR Calvin Austin III
Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
Obviously, the 2022 draft was pretty decent for the Steelers at the receiver position. You can pick nits with the overall impact of both players for different reasons, but getting George Pickens in the second round, and Calvin Austin III in the fourth round, is a haul that a lot of NFL teams would envy.
Even with Pickens out the door now, there’s still some meat on the bone there with Austin and his continued development as a receiver. It was a slow start with Austin missing his entire rookie season with a foot injury, and catching just 28 passes and two touchdowns on 32 targets in 2023, but the light started to come on last season. Not only did Austin bag 37 catches and five touchdowns on 60 targets, he also was Pittsburgh’s second-most-prolific deep target behind only Pickens, with seven catches of 20 or more air yards for 196 yards and three of those touchdowns.
When Pickens missed three games in December with a hamstring injury, it was Austin who saw his snap counts rise.
“Calvin’s evolution has nothing to do with the availability or the lack of availability of others,” Tomlin said of Austin at the time. “He’s just a guy that’s stepping forward with each and every opportunity. His experience is starting to show. He’s got a feel for the game. He’s competitive, he’s playing fast, and it’s reasonable to expect that to continue.”
Austin ran a more comprehensive route palette in 2024; the year before, he was primarily a screen/hitch/seam/go guy, but as his field awareness has developed, the team is trusting him with more. And even in the obvious explosive straight-line plays, you can see the route awareness take a considerable jump. Perhaps most importantly for a guy his size (5’9, 162 pounds) who wants more opportunities, Austin showed over and over that he’s willing and able to make the contested catch —even when he knows the hits are coming.
Calvin Austin III showed some real development in 2024. The route awareness and toughness in contested situations for his size? These are things you can build on. More than just a straight-line speed guy, though the straight-line speed is nice to have. pic.twitter.com/wjAbBI2nnE
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) June 11, 2025
That’s given Austin some confidence heading into the new season.
“Just having that confidence that anytime I step on the field, no one can guard me,” he said in late May. “Just confidence in my abilities, confidence in my teammates, confidence in the things that I say, confidence in the way that I work and my routes, just overall confidence.
“I just want to go out there and be ready to play ball for real.”
Rodgers, who completed 21 of 57 passes of 20 or more air yards last season for 564 yards, seven touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 106.6 for the Jets, will likely appreciate that.
Underrated Free-Agent Signing: CB Brandin Echols
Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Steelers ranked ninth in Defensive DVOA last season — seventh against the pass — and they’re pretty set at cornerback with third-year man Joey Porter Jr. and veteran Darius Slay on a one-year, $10 million contract with $8.745 million guaranteed. Beanie Bishop Jr. is a credible slot defender, as well. So, why the addition of former New York Jets cornerback Brandin Echols on a two-year, $6 million deal with $1,83 million guaranteed?
Tomlin and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin have been saying for the past few years that they want to play more aggressive press coverage; that was certainly front of mind when the Steelers selected Porter in the second round, and Cory Trice in the seventh round, of the 2023 draft. And the Slay addition obviously adds to the proliferation of that mindset.
Well, when aligned as a press cornerback in 2024, Echols allowed five catches on 12 targets for 61 yards, and just one touchdown… to some guy by the name of George Pickens.
After cornerback Brandin Echols signed with the Steelers in March, he was asked about facing the Steelers in Week 7 of the 2024 season.
“That's all I was really worried about, just getting ready for him,” Echols said of George Pickens.
The worry was justified. pic.twitter.com/3Lb9qAsYMq
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) May 7, 2025
That aside, Echols does bring inside/outside versatility, and he has the skills to compete for a starting spot — or, at the very least, meaningful reps.
The @steelers want cornerbacks who can press at the line of scrimmage, and match all the way downfield. Brandin Echols is a nice addition to the roster in that regard. pic.twitter.com/WPhd7ywv3X
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) June 11, 2025
Given his experience with the Jets, he has a nice relationship with the new quarterback.
“It was cool, man,” Echols said in March of his time with Rodgers. “When he first got there, I couldn’t really feel him out. But after a while, we kind of gravitated towards each other, and in practices, he started trying to attack me. But it was for the betterment of me. And I will say having him around, it did make me a better football player.
“I’m more of a laid-back type of guy. I try to just get a feel for everybody. And he started, pushing his way towards it and making jokes, poking [fun] at me and stuff. Then, after awhile, we just started talking. I used to have a little hairdo thing that I used to do. He would look at me like, ‘Oh, if his hair is on the right side, he’s mad. If it’s on the left side, he’s happy. If it’s in the middle, you don’t know what you might get,’
“So, yeah, it was cool.”
Helping Aaron Rodgers stay in his happy place? Hey, the more you can do…
Underrated Draft Pick: EDGE Jack Sawyer
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
It’s hard to be underrated when you’re one of the prominent faces of the reigning NCAA champions, but Jack Sawyer has managed to pull it off. Despite a 2024 campaign in which he tallied seven sacks, 66 total pressures, 27 solo tackles, 43 assists, nine tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, an interception, and the most important defensive touchdown in college football last season, Sawyer was not considered a first- or second-day talent by those in the know in the NFL.
Not even close. The Steelers stole Sawyer with the 123rd overall pick in the fourth round of the draft. To be fair, there were legitimate reasons for the drop. At 6’ 4¼ and 260 pounds, Sawyer is more of a power-pusher than a pure speed rusher, and his combination of wingspan (77⅛”, eighth percentile among edge defenders since 1999) and arm length (31¾”, fourth percentile) is not great in the abstract.
Sawyer is also not yet to the point where he has a fully-developed portfolio of pass-rush moves — he leads with an estimable bull-rush, and everything else is still a question mark. Sawyer proved able to jump gaps from the edge on end/tackle stunts and whatnot, but how well that will work for him against NFL blockers is to be determined.
All that said, it would appear that Tomlin has a plan in place, and in his mind, the ideal guy to implement it.
“Love Jack Sawyer,” Tomlin said when Day 3 of the draft was done. “[He’s] easy to love not only in terms of his resume but his relationship with the game, his approach to football business, how he’s viewed and received by his teammates. As [general manager] Omar [Khan] mentioned, a lot of these guys [in this draft class] represent Steeler DNA, and I think that’s really indicative of Jack Sawyer.”
In Sawyer’s defense, there are always those NFL players who look unimpressive until it’s time to hit the field. And then, for whatever reason, something else kicks in. One example last season was Sawyer’s interception of a Davis Warren pass to tight end Hogan Hansen against Michigan. When Hansen ran the end of his shallow cross in the end zone, Sawyer bumped from pass rush to coverage, putting himself in the right place at the right time for the pick.
Minnesota Vikings end Andrew Van Ginkel has been killing quarterbacks with these flat dropbacks for years, and if this play reminds you of a particular James Harrison interception in Super Bowl XLIII without the touchdown at the end… well, you’re not entirely off base.
That 83-yard touchdown against Texas in the Cotton Bowl wasn’t the only time that Sawyer bollixed a quarterback with a forced fumble — he seems to have a knack for such things, and the swipe move to attack Northwestern quarterback Jack Lausch was a nice touch.
The money shot against Texas wasn't the only time Jack Sawyer convinced a quarterback to fumble last season. It seemed to be a thing. pic.twitter.com/JeYfIfMNje
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) June 11, 2025
Perhaps Sawyer will be a larger version of Nick Herbig, who has carved out a credible rotational role without an NFL-designed frame. Herbig was also a fourth-round pick (132nd to Sawyer’s 123rd), has managed to thrive beyond perceived limitations, and is equally adept with the concept of the forced fumble.
It’s almost as if the Steelers know which kinds of guys they prefer.
