The Athletic released their future power rankings today, put together by former NFL general manager Randy Mueller along with Mike Sando. The rankings were determined by considering a team’s quarterback, head coach, payroll and ownership in that order, judging their success over the next three years. The teams were broken up into categories using stock market jargon, with “blue chip” being the best. The Pittsburgh Steelers fell into the third-best category, landing in the “preferred” category alongside the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Baltimore Ravens and Green Bay Packers.
Pittsburgh came in behind the three blue-chip teams in the Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles and the Buffalo Bills, in addition to a value team in the Cincinnati Bengals.