I was walking and talking about the Steelers with a friend recently, and I said, “You know, I felt much more confident in them last year at this time than I do now.”

My friend responded with his usual snarky laugh as if I was crazy for thinking the 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers, led by Kenny Pickett and Co., were the stronger bet than the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers, led by Russell Wilson and Co, are.

But it all comes down to context. How did people feel about the Steelers heading into 2023? There were a lot of unknowns as training camp approached, but the future seemed bright because it felt like the quarterback position, manned by Ben Roethlisberger as recently as 2021, was in good hands with the guy Pittsburgh selected with the 20th pick of the 2022 NFL Draft. Pickett’s rookie stat line wasn’t strong, but the finish to his first season was. There was that epic game-winning drive against the Raiders, followed by the more epic game-winning drive in Baltimore.

The Steelers had an excellent offseason in 2023, led by general manager Omar Khan, the Khan Artist. His many transactions wowed us. His trades and free-agent signings were winners. His first draft was better than the average fan would even dare to fantasize about.

Also, Pickett added 15 pounds of muscle in the offseason. He was committed to being the best quarterback possible. He had his own office at the facilities. He looked fantastic at training camp. He looked even better during the preseason, leading the offense to five touchdowns in as many drives.

There was talk of Pickett being an MVP candidate. There was even a prediction from a local radio host (I won’t say his name, but it rhymes with Andrew Fillipponi) that Matt Canada, the team’s embattled offensive coordinator since 2021, would be a candidate for a head coaching job by season’s end.

Then the season started.

Snake eyes!

At least at first when Pittsburgh got shellacked at home by the perennially contending 49ers, whose fans invaded Acrisure Stadium in Week 1 and reminded the black and gold faithful that their favorite football team had fallen behind in many areas.

But the Steelers found a way to win seven of their next 10 games, even if they never did pass the eye test.

That exam was a bone of contention for many fans who were offended that they were even asked to take it.

“7-4 is 7-4!” they insisted. There was even a day-long celebration when Canada was relieved of his duties on November 21.

Of course, 7-4 quickly turned into 7-7 after three-straight defeats–including back-to-back home losses to 2-10 teams.

In the meantime, Pickett was injured. Mitch Trubisky was awful. The 2023 campaign seemed doomed, especially after two of the team’s top three inside linebackers–Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander–suffered season-ending injuries.

But Mike Tomlin never blinks and didn’t at the end of 2023. Myles Jack came out of retirement and gave the Steelers solid snaps at inside linebacker. Even someone named Blake Martinez filled in at the position. Elandon Roberts, the least sexy of the three inside linebackers Khan signed in the offseason, proved to be one of the defense’s most valuable players, especially down the stretch. Teryl Austin’s unit was pretty good in 2023, not great, but pretty good.

The defense finished 21st in yards but sixth in points. No, it wasn’t elite, but it hung in there just well enough that Mason Rudolph could ride in on his sleigh and save the season.

That’s right, Pittsburgh finished 10-7 and made the playoffs as the seventh seed. The Steelers were even semi-competitive against the Bills in the wildcard game, despite falling behind by a score of 21-0.

Final score: Bill 31, Steelers 17.

The finish to the Steelers 2023 campaign may have given the average fan hope if Pickett and Co. were leading the way. But the team was led by players from the Island of Misfit Toys by season’s end, and nobody expected the likes of Rudolph, Jack and even Patrick Peterson to return in 2024.

That brings me to 2024 and the start of training camp.

Wilson, who the Steelers signed for a song at the onset of free agency in March, is the Steelers’ new starting quarterback. And if it’s not him, it will be Justin Fields, who the Steelers traded a 2025 sixth-round pick to acquire in the offseason. Pickett is gone. Trubisky is gone. Rudolph is gone.

Donte Jackson is the Steelers’ new starting cornerback opposite Joey Porter Jr. DeShon Elliott is the new starting strong safety. Patrick Queen, who Pittsburgh signed to the richest free agent contract in franchise history, will be the new starting inside linebacker opposite Roberts.

The offensive line has been further revamped, thanks to the drafting of tackle Troy Fautanu in the first round and center Zach Frazier in the second.

Will Fautanu be the starting left tackle or right tackle? Shouldn’t Broderick Jones, who Pittsburgh traded up in the first round to select in 2023, be the starter on the left side? I mean, he doesn’t have to be (he did well when he replaced the now departed Chuks Okorafor at right tackle last season), but I sure would like to see the two most recent first-round picks starting on the offensive line this year.

Will Dan Moore Jr., the Michael Myers of offensive linemen, be the starter again at left tackle?

Are we a little too sure that Frazier can step right in and start at center?

Doesn’t Jackson feel like a rich man’s Levi Wallace?

Speaking of Jackson, he was acquired in a trade that sent receiver Diontae Johnson to Carolina.

Steelers fans finally got their wish: Johnson was sent packing. Unfortunately, no matter how often they’ve tried to wish it into existence, Brandon Aiyuk isn’t a Steelers receiver. Neither is Deebo Samuel or Courtland Sutton. Van Jefferson is. Quez Watkins is, too. Roman Wilson, a third-round pick from Michigan, might be good.

I sure hope so.

Speaking of Suttons, Cam Sutton has been re-signed. Why did the Steelers re-sign him in the wake of that very ugly domestic violence incident? He was suspended and will miss the first eight games.

Who’s going to be the slot corner? Beanie Bishop? Is he any good?

I sure hope so.

Aren’t you at least a little concerned that the Broncos are paying Wilson $38 million not to play quarterback for them this year? Also, Fields feels like the Bears version of Pickett, only a bit sexier.

Is Queen capable of being a Batman or did the Steelers pay a lot of money for Roquan Smith’s Robin?

Does Cam Heyward, who missed a significant portion of 2023 with a groin injury, have anything left in the tank? Will he hold out of training camp? Will he hold in? Will he be a distraction?

Will Hard Knocks be an in-season distraction when the HBO docuseries visits the Steelers facilities late in the year?

What about that schedule? Pretty brutal, and the tough part will begin right around the time HBO starts poking its head around.

OK, I’m being all glass half-empty. Maybe the Steelers will be better in 2024. But even if they are, will they be good enough to compete with the Chiefs, Ravens, Bills, Bengals, Dolphins and a talented Jets team led by a presumably healthy Aaron Rodgers?

Speaking of Rodgers, he’s one of many AFC quarterbacks Wilson will have to perform as well as or better than in 2024. Where is Wilson in the NFL quarterback pecking order? Is he in the top 10? The top 14 (for playoff purposes)? Wilson threw 26 touchdowns last year, but his critics say many occurred in garbage time. Is that true? They say he doesn’t like to throw over the middle of the field. You mean we have to go through that yet again in 2024?

You say Wilson doesn’t matter because the Steelers will be a run-first offense with Arthur Smith now the OC? Where is the time machine, and did you set the year to 1976?

Even if the 2024 Steelers can outrun their recent past, they may not be able to outrun the current field of AFC contenders.

The oddsmakers seem to agree; the over/under for Steelers wins in 2024 is 8.5, which is pretty much on par with where the oddsmakers have had Pittsburgh in recent years.

Despite so many personnel changes, the Steelers still feel like a team that will win anywhere from seven to 10 games in 2024.

Maybe I’m wrong. Perhaps most of these questions will have positive answers.

I sure hope so.

The Steelers are set to report to Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa. for yet another training camp, and we’ll begin to find the answers to the many questions I just posed in this article.

The last question is this: Will the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers finally give the fans the answers they’ve been looking for since 2016?

I sure hope so.