Every offseason brings a flood of hot takes, and Steelers Nation is never short on opinions. When a player has a big contract and the production does not immediately match the paycheck, fans start getting restless. That has definitely been the case with Patrick Queen and Jalen Ramsey heading into the 2026 season. A lot of the conversation has shifted toward whether the Steelers should move on from one or both of them. But if we are being honest, many of those takes ignore some important context.
Neither player had a perfect season. There were frustrating moments from both. But acting like either of them should be on the chopping block feels like an overreaction when you look at how they were actually used and the situations they were put in throughout the year.
Let’s start with Ramsey. When the Steelers brought him in, the vision seemed pretty obvious. He was supposed to be the ultimate chess piece in the secondary, primarily playing in the slot where his instincts, physicality, and football IQ could cause problems all over the field. In that role, he could erase slot receivers, jump underneath routes, and move around as a coverage weapon.
That plan never really materialized.
Instead, Ramsey ended up playing just about everywhere. Some weeks he was outside at corner. Other weeks he was in the slot. Eventually he lined up at safety out of necessity. Depending on what the defense needed that week, Ramsey was essentially asked to plug whatever hole existed in the secondary. Late in the season, a stat circulated that told the story pretty well. Ramsey led the entire NFL in positional versatility based on snap counts by position. That sounds impressive, and it is, but it also tells you he never really got to settle into the role he was brought in to play.
Toward the end of the season, the Steelers moved him to free safety due to injuries and inconsistent play at the position, and that actually helped stabilize the defense. Communication improved, coverage busts dropped, and the secondary looked more organized overall. The important thing to remember, though, is that it was Ramsey’s first season playing free safety full time. Expecting him to immediately look like an All Pro at a brand new position was probably unrealistic.
In other words, Ramsey did not fail the plan. The plan changed around him.
Patrick Queen’s season had a similar kind of context that often gets lost in the conversation. Queen definitely had some rough moments. The missed tackles were frustrating, and there were times when his coverage looked shaky. Those criticisms are fair.
But the idea that he was some massive liability does not really match what shows up on the film.
One of the biggest issues Queen dealt with was the play of the defensive line in front of him. Far too often you could see interior defensive linemen getting pushed backward, sometimes right into Queen’s lap. When that happens, it completely disrupts what a linebacker is supposed to do. Instead of reading the play and shooting a gap downhill, Queen often had to dodge bodies and navigate traffic before he could even react to the ball carrier.
Linebacker play is heavily tied to what happens up front. When the defensive line controls the line of scrimmage, linebackers look fast and decisive. When the line gets pushed backward, linebackers suddenly look hesitant and late. That context matters when evaluating Queen’s season.
Even with those issues, Queen still flashed the athletic ability that made the Steelers want him in the first place. When he had clean lanes, his speed jumped off the screen. When he trusted what he saw, he could still explode into the backfield and disrupt plays. Queen has recorded 100 plus tackles in five of his six NFL seasons, which is not an easy feat. The physical tools are still very much there.
Now the big variable entering 2026 is new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. Graham has built a reputation around the league for getting the most out of the players he has. His defenses are flexible, creative, and designed to put players in positions where their strengths actually show up.
That could be huge for both Ramsey and Queen.
Imagine Ramsey finally spending most of his time in the slot like the Steelers originally envisioned, while occasionally rotating into safety looks instead of living there out of necessity. Imagine Queen playing behind a defensive front that keeps blockers off him so he can attack downhill instead of constantly working around traffic. Those are not unrealistic scenarios.
This defense still has plenty of talent. The outside linebacker group remains one of the best in football, and Joey Porter Jr. is quickly becoming one of the top cornerbacks in the league. If the interior defensive line can regain its physical edge and Graham can clean up the structure of the defense, players like Ramsey and Queen could look very different in 2026.
The Steelers still have two dynamic defenders who have proven they can play at a high level in this league. With clearer roles, better structure, and a coordinator known for creative problem solving, the upcoming season could tell a very different story. And if that happens, the narrative around both players could flip pretty quickly.
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