Steelers Secondary Will Be Tested By Elite Receiving Matchups In 2023

The Pittsburgh Steelers have improved practically across the board after an incredibly productive 2023 offseason. The front office trio of Mike Tomlin, Andy Weidl, and Omar Khan set out to add depth and breed competition at every position. The 2022 season may not have resulted in a losing campaign, the 16th consecutive non-losing season for Tomlin, but that doesn't mean it was considered a success. The bar for 2023 has been set much higher, and a lot of that will rely on the secondary to shut down opponents on a weekly basis. The question is, can they rise to the occasion?

Steelers Face Early Receiving Battles In 2023

According to PFF, the Steelers will be facing a Top-15 receiving corps eight times during the 2023 season. For a secondary that has brought in a good amount of talent, as well as that competition that Tomlin loves, these will reveal just how improved the Steelers truly are. When a defensive squad takes on elite talent on a consistent basis, it will either sharpen the team or the weaknesses will start to stand out more each week.

They drafted Joey Porter Jr. and signed Patrick Peterson to shore up the cornerback spot, both of which have high expectations ahead of 2023. Damontae Kazee, Keanu Neal and Tre Norwood (when healthy) are looking to fill or add depth beside Minkah Fitzpatrick in the secondary. With quite a few opponents sporting excellent receivers on Pittsburgh's 2023 schedule, all eyes will be on the defensive matchups.

There is no warm-up for Pittsburgh in 2023, as the San Francisco 49ers come to town in Week 1, bringing their fourth-ranked receiving core with them. With San Francisco, it isn't just a wide receiver issue, it's all over the place. With George Kittle at tight end and Christian McCaffrey in the backfield, the 49ers can pass the ball all over with deadly consequences.

It doesn't get easier when Davante Adams and his Las Vegas Raiders welcome the Steelers to their turf in Week 3, with an eighth-ranked receiving corps. Hunter Renfrow and Josh Jacobs add to new-to-town quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo's passing options. While Adams rules the roost in Las Vegas, Renfrow is a sneaky option, and as long as Jacobs reports to the team, he adds a dynamic receiving choice.

This team goes where Adams goes, so look for Pittsburgh to try and take him out of the game and deal with the remaining weapons as they are.

AFC North Boasts Two Top-15 Receiving Battles For The Steelers

Pittsburgh already knows that it plays in one of the toughest divisions in football, but in 2023, they will play two divisional rivals with high-ranked receivers on the team.

The Baltimore Ravens come to Pittsburgh in Week 5, and then the Steelers travel to Baltimore to close the 2023 season out in Week 18. In both of those matchups, barring injury, the Steelers will be up against the 15th-ranked team on PFF's receiving corp ranking. This high rank is based on Lamar Jackson agreeing to continue playing for Baltimore after a challenging back-and-forth between the quarterback and the franchise that drafted him.

The receivers themselves are at either end of the spectrum, with Odell Beckham Jr. coming off a rough knee injury at age 30, and the rookie receiver Zay Flowers introducing himself to the league. Both are a toss-up to carry the team because that will likely fall to veteran tight end, Mark Andrews. The consistent pass-catching tight end has been a foundational piece of Baltimore's offense for years, and they will need it all the more in 2023.

The second AFC North team that owns a high 2023 ranking on Pittsburgh's schedule is the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals own the first spot in the rankings, and for good reason. Ja'Marr Chase would qualify for the top spot all on his own, but Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd are both players who could be starting receivers i were they on a different team. Joe Burrow has plenty of dynamic weapons at his disposal with the wide receivers alone, but Joe Mixon provides an excellent and reliable set of hands out of the backfield.

It's no wonder the Bengals top this list. It isn't just the number of targets that excel in Cincinnati, it's the deep level of talent that exists across the board. Any team that the Bengals go up against in 2023 will be challenged, so the Steelers will be well-versed in who they will be defending twice in the season.

Steelers Will Have Two NFC West Challenges In 2023

Just like the Bengals, who could have relied on their top receiver for a spot on PFF's list, the Los Angeles Rams are ranked in the 14th spot because they have Cooper Kupp. Granted, his 2022 production (75 catches, 812 yards, six touchdowns) hardly seem like numbers that place him among the elite pass catchers, but don't forget 2021. What Kupp did only two years ago by catching 145 passes for 1,947 yards with 16 touchdowns means he is in another stratosphere like Justin Jefferson's and Stefon Diggs.

If Kupp excels, the Rams will deserve this spot. In Week 7 of the 2023 season, the Rams will host the Steelers, giving the secondary a chance to shut down Kupp and expose the remainder of the Rams receiving options as subpar in comparison. It's a battle at the cornerback position in Pittsburgh, but whoever is in that starting spot come Week 7 will have their hands full.

The other NFC West opponent is the Seattle Seahawks, who own the fifth-best receiving group in the league. Everyone knows that D.K. Metcalf is a physical freak of nature that can embarrass defenses, but it's the combination of Metcalf and Tyler Lockett that makes this corps what it is. Metcalf and Lockett both surpassed 1,000 yards receiving in 2022, with Metcalf never having less than 900 yards in a season throughout his entire career thus far.

The Seahawks will welcome the Steelers to town in Week 17, making this a tasty late-season battle. As if the dangerous duo of Metcalf and Lockett wasn't enough to keep defenders up at night, Seattle drafted one of the top receiving prospects in Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The young receiver out of Ohio State already has two amazing players ahead of him as mentors and challengers, so by the time the Seahawks and Steelers face off, this receiving corps could be even more difficult to handle than it is right now.

There are many household names waiting for the Steelers secondary in 2023, but if the team have anything to say about it, they will be prepared for every battle. In a year that has been all about building competition and establishing the best team possible in Pittsburgh, as good as these top-15 receiving groups are, they will face a defense that will give them everything they can take - and hopefully more. It is a long season, and after a difficult 2022, the Steelers are poised to make that leap from middling ground to true contender. Now all that's left is to prove it.

How will the 2023 Steelers' secondary do against these elite receiving groups? #SteelerNation