Pittsburgh Steelers defensive line is best in NFL

The Pittsburgh Steelers defensive line has been ranked at the coveted number one spot in the NFL, as per Pro Football Focus’ preseason rankings. Their rankings take into account different defensive schemes and include outside rushing linebackers, if they’re featured in the team’s pass rush as well.

Best defensive line in the NFL

Going into the 2021 NFL season, the majority of any predictive model has to use a team’s success in the previous year. By accounting for changes made in the offseason, you start to get an idea of what to expect from the new roster. The Pittsburgh Steelers led the league in 2020 in pressuring the opposing quarterback. Getting pressure on an outstanding 45.1% of passes, the pass rush makes the secondary’s job much easier.

Losing linebacker Bud Dupree in the offseason was the only major change to their pass rush, as Dupree signed a five-year deal with the Tennessee Titans worth $16.5 million a year. Stepping into his role as the edge rusher is second-year Steeler linebacker Alex Highsmith. Pro Football Focus claimed in their rankings that the change may not be as drastic as people think.

“One would think that Pittsburgh’s defensive line is slated to take a step back after replacing Bud Dupree with Alex Highsmith. But that step might not be as large as many expect. Highsmith finished his rookie season with a higher pass-rush win rate (16.5%) than Dupree (13.7%) last year,” Pro Football Focus detailed about the newest starter.

“He joins a group that already features T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward, Stephon Tuitt and Tyson Alualu, all of whom made PFF’s list of the top 32 players at their respective positions entering the 2021 NFL season. That group will look to match a league-leading 45.1% pressure rate in 2020.”

2020 statistics and looking ahead

The Pittsburgh Steelers defensive line is loaded with talent, and their impact last season led to their season’s hot start. After beginning the year 12-0, the Steelers rode that early success to a division title before a disappointing loss to the Cleveland Browns in the playoffs.

The Pittsburgh defense in 2019 ranked fifth in yards allowed per game, led by a league-leading 54 sacks on the year. Somehow they managed to improve on those numbers in 2020, ranking third this time in yards per game, and tallying two more sacks for 56 on the year. Back-to-back seasons as the highest sack total in the NFL puts a lot of pressure on the Steelers pass rush going forward, and they’re going to need T.J. Watt to live up to it.

As Pete Nakos of On3 Sports detailed in his article about T.J. Watt’s contract negotiations, Watt’s impact on the defense cannot be understated.

He has been selected first-team All-Pro in both seasons. In this time, he has totaled 29.5 sacks, 77 hits on the quarterback, 15 passes defended, 10 forced fumbles and 23 tackles for loss. He was also third in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2019 and second in 2020.

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