Steelers' Patrick Queen Reveals Why Pittsburgh's New-Look Defense Has Him Fired Up

The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in some unfamiliar territory heading into the 2026 season. For the first time in nearly 20 years, there is almost an entirely new coaching staff. Head Coach Mike McCarthy takes the reins in 2026 with an updated group of personnel on the sidelines. With that group comes new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, who did some good work in his tenure with the Las Vegas Raiders. In fact, in 2023, Graham turned Las Vegas from the 26th defensive scoring unit in 2022, to 9th overall that season as he led a massive turnaround.

One player that appears to be excited about the change of faces in Pittsburgh for 2026 is linebacker Patrick Queen. Queen appeared on The Fehoko Show with former NFL player Breiden Fehoko and provided his thoughts on the changes that have taken place thus far, as well as what he has observed this offseason. Fehoko, who retired from the NFL in 2025, spent three seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers and was most recently on the Steelers practice squad.

"I kind of feel like guys are just excited," Queen said. "Like everybody's bought in. It's good questions being asked. For me personally, I love a challenge because it tests your mind, it tests your will, it tests you as a person. I like being in a scheme I'm familiar with. It's kind of a mix of New England and Baltimore."

A challenge will definitely be had across the board as McCarthy assumes these duties for the Black and Gold, looking to get the franchise back to its extremely successful ways. The defensive unit ranked 26th in total defense in the 2025 season, with 356.9 yards per game allowed. They were also 29th in passing defense, allowing 243.9 yards per game through the air. However, the rushing defense was able to stay in the top half of the league, ranking 13th overall with 113.1 rushing yards allowed per game.

While they were not necessarily a bad unit overall, Graham has some work cut out for him to get them back to being a consistently dominant group on the field. Given his track record of doing that with much less talent and resources in Las Vegas, he definitely has what it takes to get the job done. Queen's comments added some context as to how these sweeping changes have gone so far, which appears to be that the team is welcoming it and ready to go to work.

Steelers' Defense Can Improve With Revamped Offense In 2026

The Black and Gold have a solid defense overall for some time now, at least when it comes to personnel on the field. However, with how their offense struggled in 2025, that is a bad recipe to have success, even for the best of defenses. If an offensive unit cannot sustain drives, then that can quickly fatigue players and prevent them from staying fresh when taking the field on the other side of the ball.

The good news for Pittsburgh is that they acquired Michael Pittman Jr. via trade from the Indianapolis Colts to provide some help to wide receiver DK Metcalf. Then in the 2026 NFL Draft, they selected wide receiver Germie Bernard from the University of Alabama, who has already received some high praise. Should these moves translate into an improved offense on the field, that will allow Graham to use his expertise with Queen and company to hopefully see an improved defense overall in 2026 as well.

Hearing the six-year veteran linebacker welcome change should be music to the ears of many with all the change from January until now in the Steel City. The familiarity with the defensive scheme should certainly help him, but embracing these sweeping changes is definitely great news for McCarthy and his coaching staff. Only time will tell if the unit improves compared to 2025, but they appear to be in great hands with their new coaching staff.

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