The Steelers Defense will be an interesting group to slot for 2022, in fantasy terms. It was this year, too, with it clear there were some age and personnel issues, especially in the secondary. With Ben Roethlisberger retiring, the team itself could be headed for a steep decline.

The problem is that while it's easy to say the team will be a loser and will struggle in some defensive areas, it remains in the midst of an unprecedented run of success in another. Despite its problems in 2021, most notably finishing last in run defense, it still led the NFL with 55 sacks. Incredibly, that's the fifth year in a row it's finished with the top pass rush in the league.

Table sorted by total sacks the last five years. Pittsburgh was No. 1 in each of those seasons, so of course it's also No. 1 (by a wide margin) on a cumulative basis. They've got 31 more sacks than the 2nd-place Rams.

TEAM SACKS, 2017-2021
Defense1718192021Total
Pittsburgh5652545655273
LA Rams4841505350242
New Orleans4249514546233
Washington4246464738219
Arizona3749404841215
Minnesota3750482351209
Chicago4250323549208
Carolina5035532939206
Philadelphia3844434929203
Tampa Bay2238474847202
Green Bay3744414139202
Denver3344404236195
Baltimore4143373934194
San Francisco3037483048193
Kansas City3152453231191
Cleveland3437383843190
Seattle3943284634190
Jacksonville5537471832189
Dallas3839393141188
Buffalo2736443842187
Tennessee4339431943187
New England4230472436179
Indianapolis2538414033177
Miami3031234148173
LA Chargers4338302735173
Houston3243313432172
NY Giants2730364034167
NY Jets2839353133166
Cincinnati4134311742165
Detroit3543282430160
Atlanta3937282918151
Las Vegas3113322135132

But all isn't rosy for the Steelers, even with Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt leading that pass rush, which is why they won't be 2022's top fantasy defense -- maybe not necessarily in the top 10. Over the last five years, they've finished 7th in takeaways, which is impressive, but that's largely due to two season where they finished 1st or 2nd. In three of five they're ranked outside the top 12. That includes slipping to 14th last season. Breaking in a new, probably lesser quarterback, unlikely they'll be playing with a lot of leads next year, and seems more likely they'll continue to slip in that regard.

TEAM TAKEAWAYS, 2021
DefenseTakeRk
Dallas341
Indianapolis332
Buffalo303
New England303
Kansas City295
Tampa Bay295
Arizona277
Green Bay268
Miami268
Houston2510
LA Rams2510
New Orleans2510
Minnesota2413
NY Giants2214
Pittsburgh2214
Tennessee2216
Cincinnati2117
LA Chargers2117
Atlanta2019
San Francisco2019
Cleveland1921
Denver1921
Detroit1921
Washington1921
Seattle1825
Carolina1626
Chicago1626
Philadelphia1626
Baltimore1529
Las Vegas1529
NY Jets1431
Jacksonville932

A lot of offseason ahead of us. Maybe the Steelers end up with a better quarterback than Mason Rudolph, making things look more promising, and maybe they add another elite defender in the Draft or free agency.

But if I were putting together defensive rankings right now, I'm not sure Pittsburgh would make the top 10. Maybe 12-14. Secondary concerns and a lousy run defense look like a bad mix.

--Andy Richardson