Steelers 27-Year-Old Safety Thinks the Team Has the Potential to Have a Top-Five Defense in 2026
Under former head coach Mike Tomlin and former defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, the Steelers defense struggled. They lacked creativity and were too predictable under their former leadership. The Steelers ranked 26th in total defense for the 2025 season. With new head coach Mike McCarthy and new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, the Steelers defense is hopeful that they’ll make significant improvements in 2026.
Steelers safety Jaquan Brisker, who signed a one-year contract with the team in March, believes that their defense will be elite. On Thursday, Mark Kaboly shared Brisker’s confidence in the Steelers’ defense this year. Brisker told him, “I feel like we have the potential to be the best, to be top-five, top-three, to get back to what Pittsburgh is used to with their defense being on top. We want to be a top-five defense, and that should be the mindset. We got talent everywhere, you know, from the D-line, and we got dead linebackers, we got that, corners, nickel, safeties. We have depth, a lot of moving parts, and we are deep. We have a dope coaching staff, too.”
Brisker isn’t the only one who believes that the Steelers’ defense will be better under Graham’s leadership. During an appearance on the Steelers Standard podcast on Wednesday, former Steelers linebacker Vince Williams endorsed Graham. He said, “I love the guy. He’s a brainiac. He’s a genius, man. I used to watch his stuff when I used to break down film, when I was an assistant D-line coach. I was like, ‘Man, this guy really knows what he’s doing.’” BVM Sports noted, “Graham’s Raiders’ defense was a bottom-five unit in his first year but improved to the middle of the pack thereafter.” Graham has more talent to work with on the Steelers than he had during his recent tenure with the Raiders.
One important aspect of Graham’s defense is versatility. His ability to determine when to move players around is one of the reasons he’s an effective defensive coordinator. He also adjusts the team’s defensive schemes based on the players’ strengths. Graham can help the Steelers refine their defensive strategies and leverage their player depth. Whether or not the team will have a top-five defense in 2026 remains to be seen. However, they should show significant improvement under Graham’s leadership.
