CBS Sports senior writer Pete Prisco has released his top 100 players heading into the 2022 season and four of them are Pittsburgh Steelers.
But the placement of the players may raise a few questions.
Of course Defensive Player of the Year, T.J. Watt is in the top 10.
Watt ranks #7 overall, the second defensive player on the list, Aaron Donald ranked #1 on the list.
Prisco says of Watt: He was the Defensive Player of the Year last season after leading the league in sacks with 22.5, which tied Michael Strahan for the all-time single-season record. Watt is also good against the run, which makes him a double threat on the edge.
Rounding out the top six, Donald, followed by Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Cooper Kupp and Tom Brady.
The next Steelers player to make the list is Cameron Heyward who comes in at #27.
Prisco says, He might be the game's most underrated down player. He is a force who doesn't pile up huge sacks numbers in their scheme. But he did have 10 last year, which is the second-best of his career.
At #70 comes the Steelers first and only offensive player to make the list, wide receiver Diontae Johnson. Johnson is currently looking for a contract and is on the last year of his rookie deal.
Prisco says of Johnson: He had a career-best 107 catches with eight touchdowns last season. He tied Davante Adams for the second-most targets per game at 10.6.
While Johnson may be one of the Steelers most talented offensive players, is he more valuable than safety Minkah Fitzpatrick?
Prisco thinks so: After an impressive 2020 season, his play dropped some last season.
Early in the season, he just wasn't as good. But he came on late to help the Steelers make the playoffs.
One of the biggest reasons Fitzpatrick wasn’t the player he has been in the past is because he had to spend a lot of time trying to correct mistakes or make tackles that the defensive line and inside linebackers were unable to make.
To Prisco’s credit though, while Fitzpatrick was unable to put his talents on full display, he certainly didn’t have the impact he had in 2019, even if it wasn’t all his fault.
With Fitzpatrick now the highest paid safety in the history of the NFL, the Steelers better hope he’s higher than #97 heading into 2023. If not that means he was simply a garbage man again, having to clean up poor play up front.
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Prisco also had a list on honorable mentions, players that are pretty good, but not enough for the top 100.
Running back Najee Harris, who had a 1,000+ rushing rookie, made that list heading into this second year in the league.