At its core, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ new defensive brain trust leans toward cerebral schematics in devising the unit.

The coordinator, Patrick Graham, is a Yale alumnus, after all. Graham refers to defensive pass game coordinator Jason Simmons as “one of the smartest men — on the field (and) off the field — that I know.” Graham has a reputation for deploying deception with myriad formations and personnel groupings.

In short, the goal is to out-think the opposing offense.

Don’t let that fool you, though. All that fancy gameplanning with disguised coverages and exotic blitz packages are no substitute for what the Steelers have hung their proverbial hat on for generations.

“We’ve got to play hard-nosed, physical football,” Graham said during his first public comments as Steelers defensive coordinator in the spring.

“We have to have an intimidating play style.”

The Steelers new coaching staff believes it has the personnel on defense to thread that needle. There’s great size on the defensive line and in the secondary in addition to plenty of high-end experience and football IQ.

New head coach Mike McCarthy is upfront that his background is in offense and that his primary day-to-day job responsibilities will be on that side of the ball. But he also repeatedly has remarked he’s long been a fan of the 3-4 defense the Steelers began to popularize 31⁄2 decades ago after they hired Bill Cowher as coach and Cowher made Dom Capers his defensive coordinator.

McCarthy was such a fan that he entrusted Capers to run his defenses with the Green Bay Packers for nine seasons, and he tried in vain early this spring to lure Capers back to Pittsburgh for a role on his staff.

“There’s a lot here in place here,” McCarthy said of taking the Steelers’ job of the defense. “I mean, the defensive system has been here since 1992. It came here with Cowher and Dom Capers. I’ve always been a fan of it and always felt it was the toughest one to compete against as an offensive coach. That’s part of the reason why I went to it in Green Bay.

“When you’ve got something that works the way it’s worked here for so long, I think you should try to do everything you can to build off of that, if possible.”

Here is a unit-by-unit look at where the Steelers’ defense stands as it embarks on the first season of the McCarthy era:

Defensive tackles

The average listed height and weight of the 12 defensive linemen on the Steelers camp roster is 6-foot-1⁄2, 304 pounds. The six expected to get the majority of the playing time this season check in with an average of 6-5, 310.

“This is the biggest defensive line I’ve ever coached,” said McCarthy, who’s entering his 19th season as an NFL head coach. “I think they look exactly how you’re supposed to look.”

Cameron Heyward earned All-Pro honors (second team) for the sixth time last season at age 36. Derrick Harmon quickly showed he was worthy of the first-round pick used to acquire him last year, slotting in with Heyward and Keeanu Benton as the most-used defensive tackles.

Coaches have hinted at deploying Benton more often this season in pass rush situations and less while lined up over the center. The addition of veteran Sebastian Joseph-Day could help facilitate that.

Outside linebackers

Outside linebackers account for three of the Steelers’ five biggest (as defined by overall value) contracts. A $100 million deal was signed last month by a purported backup in Nick Herbig. That signals Herbig will move even more into a co-starter role with T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, with second-year Jack Sawyer a player most any team would love to have as its No. 4 edge rusher.

“It’s a premier position in the National Football League,” McCarthy said of edge defenders, “and we think we’re definitely one of the premier groups.”

Graham surely views dividing the labor between those four as a good problem to have. Watt, in particular, said in the past he was skeptical of lining up at different spots along the defense but is now embracing the idea under Graham.

“Those outside linebackers, you have multiple guys that can make plays,” Simmons said. “They have the ability to rush. They have the ability to drop. That allows you to be multiple, as ‘PG’ will be as the new coordinator.”

Inside linebackers

What the Steelers view as a good complement to their massive D-tackles corps is an off-ball linebacker group that has its strength in speed. Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson each have been timed in the 40-yard dash at less than 4.5 seconds.

“What we look for in the (inside linebacker) profile is the willingness to come downhill,” Graham said. “Can they get their pads underneath people? Can they get to their hands?

“If they can do that, we’ll be in good shape. We’ll be fine. What we have here, I’m really excited about our linebacker corps. You’ve got a lot of athleticism and a lot of speed, a lot of willingness to get downhill and take on blockers, and they can get the ball carrier down.”

To supplement Queen and Wilson, veteran Cole Holcomb was brought back after he showed he recovered from a serious knee injury. Malik Harrison remains on the roster as a bulkier run-stuffer, but his salary-cap hit is such that he had better have a strong camp and preseason, or he might not make the roster.

Cornerbacks

Four of the six cornerbacks projected to make the season-opening active roster stand at least 6-1 with listed weights ranging from 193 to 211 pounds.

“You’re talking about (playing in) a division where teams run the ball and have big receivers,” Graham said, “so (having plus-sized corners) is good business for our division.”

Good business, likewise, is found in the position group’s depth.

Joey Porter Jr. enters his fourth NFL season riding a streak of games without a touchdown allowed to a player in coverage dating to midway through his rookie year. Veteran Jamel Dean was the consensus top cornerback available in this spring’s free agent market, and Brandin Echols has experience and versatility.

Asante Samuel Jr. last season proved he was recovered from a significant neck injury that almost derailed a promising career. Early returns suggest Daylen Everette could be an excellent third-round pick. Jalen Ramsey is a future Hall of Famer who is embracing a likely move into the slot/nickel and overall “chess piece” on defense.

Safeties

Ramsey mostly played free safety over the second half of last season after the season-ending injury to DeShon Elliott. Elliott is back in 2026, and Jaquan Brisker was added as one of the best safeties available in free agency. Ramsey figures to still line up, at times, at a safety spot. Darnell Savage was another experienced veteran addition to this group.

“We have in the secondary a group of guys that we feel happy with,” assistant head coach/secondary Joe Whitt Jr. said. “And now we just have to make sure we put the right combination out there together.”