The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off of a disappointing 2018 campaign in which they went 9-6-1 and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
What made things so tough for the Steelers is that they got off to a 7-2-1 start, but locker room issues caused a second-half collapse and also resulted in the loss of both Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell (the latter of whom sat out all of 2018 anyway) during the offseason.
Obviously, it's a new dawn for Pittsburgh, as a couple of the club's staple offensive players are gone, but the Steelers should still have enough to be a playoff contender, even in the rugged AFC.
In order for Pittsburgh to make the postseason, however, these three players are going to need to take the next step this coming season:
3. Steven Nelson, Cornerback
The Steelers made some moves to shore up their secondary this offseason, and one of them was signing cornerback Steven Nelson to a three-year deal.
Nelson spent the first four years of his NFL tenure with the Kansas City Chiefs and is coming off of the best year of his career, registering 68 tackles, four interceptions and 15 passes defended in 2018.
The 26-year-old will link up with Joe Haden as Pittsburgh's starting cornerbacks and could help comprise one of the scarier secondary duos in football.
Of course, Nelson is going to have to live up to what he did during his final season with the Chiefs and then some, as the Steelers absolutely need some help in their defensive backfield.
2. James Conner, Running Back
We already know James Conner is good, but with Bell out of the picture, he is now taking center stage as the Steelers' No. 1 running back and needs to be even better in 2019.
Injuries limited Conner to 13 games this past season, but he still managed to rush for 973 yards and 12 touchdowns while hauling in 55 receptions for 497 yards and a score.
This year, Conner needs to remain healthy and make Pittsburgh forget all about Bell, and he showed this past season that he definitely has the ability to do just that.
Conner should be aiming to total well over 1,000 yards on the ground as well as making a significant impact in the passing game, much like Bell did during his time with the Steelers.
1. James Washington, Wide Receiver
We know JuJu Smith-Schuster is going to take Brown's place as the No. 1 receiver, and Donte Moncrief seems to have a firm handle on No. 2, but what about the No. 3 slot?
Enter James Washington, who is coming into his second season and is being looked upon as a potential key cog in the Steelers' offense.
Washington had a quiet rookie year, logging just 16 catches for 217 yards and a touchdown. However, with Brown gone, it's next man up in Pittsburgh, and while Washington certainly won't have the responsibility of Smith-Schuster or even Moncrief, he will still be expected to be more impactful than he was in 2018.
The Steelers made him a second-round pick for a reason, so Pittsburgh believes in him. Let's see if he is up for the challenge.
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