3 Overlooked Positions Steelers Must Improve Before the 2026 Season

The NFL Draft is less than 10 days away, and with each passing second, the obvious positions of need only loom larger. From wide receiver, offensive guard, defensive line, cornerback, or safety, they will understandably draw the most attention whenever the Pittsburgh Steelers are officially on the clock.

Simply put, the team has to worry more about putting together a roster worthy of its next franchise quarterback than finding someone in the draft who could somehow pan out under center (spoiler: there are no legitimate solutions at the position worthy of a high draft pick). The Steelers may not address every need through the draft, but at some point before Week 1 of the regular season kicks off, they'll need to. The following positions listed below affect several areas of performance, such as special teams, reliable depth in the case of injuries, and the middle part of the defense.

#1: Punter

Stop me if you've heard this one before: Pittsburgh has had a punting problem. Even while Danny Smith was their special teams coordinator and beloved by many, his punters have consistently underwhelmed and ranked in the bottom half of net and gross averages league-wide, resulting in the Steelers going through as many as three punters since 2021 (Pressley Harvin III, Corliss Waitman, Cameron Johnston). The last time the Steelers were no worse than league-average in punting was when they had Jordan Berry.

While not a flashy position, it matters too much when field position is at stake, and they are not winning in this particular aspect of the game. Johnston was brought back this offseason, re-signing on a one-year deal, but he hasn't punted for an entire season pre-injury since playing for the Houston Texans. In terms of gross average rank, Waitman was 21st and 23rd over two seasons, and Harvin III was 30th, 28th, and 31st over three seasons, respectively. And Net averages, the results were not much better (if at all). The former being 16th and 25th, and the latter 31st, 19th, and 30th. Punters may not be elite difference makers, but they can certainly lose you games when the position is annually neglected.

#2: Third Running Back

Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle represent an excellent tandem at the running back position, where both are expected to be starters and offset each other when needed. They'll also take the majority of carries, but even then, you can never have enough good running backs in a time where they're just one injury away from being unavailable. Kaleb Johnson, who was drafted in the third round out of the University of Iowa, was viewed as a potential starting carrier in the backfield as a rookie (assuming development was on schedule), but quickly lost the trust of former head coach Mike Tomlin's coaching staff in 2025 due to special teams miscues and inefficient numbers on limited snaps offensively.

With Mike McCarthy now in the fold, it's fair to wonder what exactly Johnson's role will be in 2026. If he shows real progress in year two, you've got a solid backup running back due for more snaps. And if not, the chopping block will soon follow him. A third running back that can step in when there are short-yardage, goal-line, and third-down situations, on top of executing technically sound blocks on the line of scrimmage, is a valuable asset.

#3: Inside Linebacker

As it currently stands, Patrick Queen, Peyton Wilson, Cole Holecomb, and Malik Harrison make up a linebacking unit that has been rather consistently inconsistent. All four have struggled with either open-field tackling or pass coverage. Racking up a ton of tackles might be common, but ultimately, just being credible at run-stopping won't cut it for a position group needing a huge improvement. Queen had a league-high 32 missed tackles and a league-worst 829 receiving yards on 74 receptions. Harrison, a potential cut candidate, struggled outside of downhill packages geared towards stopping the run.

Holecomb played very little last season as he worked his way back from a season-ending knee injury suffered in 2023, also showing signs of decline and drop off in performance. Wilson, while a good linebacker overall, is still early in his career and took a slight step back last season, allowing a 137.5 passer rating. The Steelers defense has the makings of a top-10, if not top-five, unit this fall, but can only achieve that if its linebackers possess a two-way game involving finishing tackles, limiting yards allowed in passing situations, and clogging the hole upon impact on run plays.

This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: three-overlooked-positions-steelers-must-address