If you rewind to the 2000s era of Pittsburgh Steelers football, there were plenty of examples of good players waiting for their starting opportunity behind All-Pro or Pro Bowl players. It made for a great system then, but players are becoming starters earlier and earlier these days as teams look to maximize cheap rookie contracts to help manage the salary cap.
If there’s one position on the team where the Steelers are set with their starting group, it’s outside linebacker. T.J. Watt is a perennial All-Pro and one of the best players in the NFL, and Alex Highsmith has continued to ascend into a top 20 edge defender as well.