After taking a look over several days at some of the best offensive players at their positions in 2023 who the Steelers are scheduled to face in 2024, Friday we switched sides of the ball to look at a couple areas of the defense. Before moving on, here are all the groups who have been covered so far:

Rushers
Receivers
Quarterbacks
Tight Ends
Pass Rushers

Today it’s time to check out players who defend passes. For this one, I’m looking at two different stats for players who had the most interceptions and/or passes defensed in 2023. As I said before, there could be injuries, trades, benchings, or holdouts which could make these players not able to see the field when they face the Black and Gold. But for now, these things can’t be known for sure. This list consists of players who had at least 5 interceptions or 15 passes defensed in 2022, their overall rank in either category last season, and the week in which they will face the Steelers.

DaRon Bland (1st INT; 7th PD)
Dallas Cowboys
Week 5

The only player to make the list in both categories, DaRon Bland led the NFL in interceptions last year with nine and had five returned for touchdowns. Bland also added 15 passes defensed. In only his second season as a fifth-round draft pick in 2022, Bland will have his first matchup with the Steelers this year.

Geno Stone (2nd INT)
Cincinnati Bengals
Week 13, Week 18

Although he signed with the Cincinnati Bengals this offseason, the Steelers are very familiar with Gino Stone and his four seasons in Baltimore. Hauling in seven interceptions last year, Stone only had one interception in his first three seasons which just so happened to come against the Steelers in the final game of the 2021 season. This was the only interception Stone has had against the Steelers in six games, and is the only past defense against Pittsburgh as well.

Jessie Bates (3rd INT)
Atlanta Falcons
Week 1

After five seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals where he had 14 interceptions, Jesse Bates made his first Pro Bowl in his first season with Atlanta when he hauled in six interceptions and had 11 passes defensed. Facing the Steelers 10 times in his five years in Cincinnati, Bates had no interceptions against the Steelers and had seven total passes defensed.

Benjamin St-Juste (4th PD)
Washington Commanders
Week 10

The only player on the list to qualify with passes defensed and not interceptions, Benjamin St-Juste is in his third season after being a third-round draft pick in the 2021 NFL draft. With only one interception in 2023, the only one of his NFL career, St-Juste had 17 passes defensed in 2023, 10 more than he had in his previous season. Being in the NFC and still on his rookie contract, St-Juste has never faced the Steelers in his NFL career.