Pittsburgh Steelers: Best players of the PFF era

• Ben Roethlisberger is the clear option at QB: He earned a PFF overall grade above 80.0 in nine of the 12 seasons between 2007 and 2018.

• James Harrison was a ferocious talent off the edge: He also owns five of the top-10 seasons for the Steelers at the position in terms of PFF grade, more than any other player on the team.

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Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

PFF has collected football data since the 2006 NFL season. That allows us to look back at almost two decades of grades and numbers and pick out the best seasons at each position.

Here are the top players at each position for the Pittsburgh Steelers in that span, and some key takeaways from the data.

QB: Ben Roethlisberger, 2015, 90.6 PFF Grade
RB: Le’Veon Bell, 2014, 80.8 PFF Grade
WR: Antonio Brown, 2015, 92.6 PFF Grade
WR: Hines Ward, 2007, 89.7 PFF Grade
WR: Santonio Holmes, 2007, 84.7 PFF Grade
TE: Heath Miller, 2011, 88.2 PFF Grade
LT: Kelvin Beachum, 2014, 83.9 PFF Grade
LG: Alan Faneca, 2007, 85.2 PFF Grade
C: Maurkice Pouncey, 2016, 78.1 PFF Grade
RG: David DeCastro, 2017, 90.1 PFF Grade
RT: Willie Colon, 2009, 86.4 PFF Grade

EDGE: T.J. Watt, 2019, 92.0 PFF Grade
EDGE: Alex Highsmith, 2023, 90.2 PFF Grade
DI: Cameron Heyward, 2019, 91.6 PFF Grade
DI: Javon Hargrave, 2019, 83.5 PFF Grade
LB: Lawrence Timmons, 2012, 87.7 PFF Grade
LB: Ryan Shazier, 2017, 82.2 PFF Grade
CB: Cortez Allen, 2012, 84.3 PFF Grade
CB: William Gay, 2008, 83.6 PFF Grade
Slot CB: Mike Hilton, 2017, 83.1 PFF Grade
S: Troy Polamalu, 2008, 90.8 PFF Grade
S: Minkah Fitzpatrick, 2019, 84.4 PFF Grade

K: Chris Boswell, 2023, 85.9 PFF Grade
P: Jordan Berry, 2017, 75.6 PFF Grade
K/PR: Antonio Brown, 2013, 82.5 PFF Grade
ST: Cameron Heyward, 2015, 90.6 PFF Grade

*minimum 500 snaps except for running back (minimum of 100 carries)

BEN ROETHLISBERGER LEADS THE WAY AT QUARTERBACK

It has been all about Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback for the Steelers in the PFF era. He earned a PFF overall grade above 80.0 in nine of the 12 seasons between 2007 and 2018. He struggled in the final three years of his career, but the team has yet to have a quarterback break that 80.0 PFF grade mark since his retirement. Pittsburgh will hope to have fixed the position with the acquisitions of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields this offseason.

ANTONIO BROWN DOMINATES AT WIDE RECEIVER

Antonio Brown will likely be remembered for how his career ended, but in his prime he looked like a certain future Hall-of-Famer. Between 2013 and 2017, Brown’s 94.5 PFF receiving grade trailed, barely, only Julio Jones of the Atlanta Falcons. Brown also averaged 2.65 yards per route run in that span, again trailing only Jones.

JAMES HARRISON MISSES OUT BUT OWNS FIVE OF THE TOP 10 STEELERS’ SEASONS AT EDGE DEFENDER

The most surprising “omission” on defense was James Harrison’s 2008 Defensive Player of the Year campaign. His 59.2 PFF run-defense grade that year dented his overall grade slightly, though he still led all edge defenders with an 86.6 PFF overall grade that season and his 91.3 PFF pass-rush grade was the best of all defenders.

Harrison's 2008 season overall does trump Alex Highsmith’s 2023 campaign despite the poor run-defense grade, and he also owns five of the top-10 seasons for the Steelers at the position in terms of PFF grade, more than any other player on the team.