The Pittsburgh Steelers have lost some strong veteran players over the past few seasons. Having lost those players means that the team now needs to rely on some youngsters to step up and replace their production. If that doesn’t happen the Steelers may be in for more struggles during the 2013 seasons. However, there are six young, or fairly young, players on the roster that are poised to have breakout seasons.
David DeCastro
Last off-season there was a lot of talk about how good David DeCastro was going to be at right guard for the Steelers. He played well during training camp and the pre-season, but a knee injury in the last pre-season game stopped him in his tracks. Thanks to a new NFL rule that allows teams to bring one players off of injured reserve he still played in four games during his rookie season and started three, but it wasn’t what was expected.
Guards Kelechi Osmele, Baltimore, and Kevin Zeitler, Cincinnati, were also drafted into the AFC North and played very well as rookies. What’s exciting about that is that DeCastro is expected to be as good, or better than those two players. DeCastro will be playing on the right side of the line in-between Maurkice Pouncey and Mike Adams.
Pouncey is a three-time All-Pro in only three NFL seasons. As for Adams he played in six games as a rookie and played very well in run blocking. With DeCastro expected to be a very good run blocking guard the Steelers may have a very strong running game; especially when they go to the right side.
Emmanuel Sanders
Mike Wallace departed during the off-season, which means all of the other Steelers wide receivers will be moving up one spot on the depth chart. Antonio Brown will be the Steelers number one receiver and Ben Roethlisberger’s top target on offense. That also 
means that Sanders will become the second receiver on the depth chart and will be a starter for the first time in his career.
Sanders has shown very good things when healthy. Since his time in college he has battled foot injuries, but if he can put those issues behind him he could be set for a very good season; especially now that he will start and get more targets in the passing game.
Based on the number of targets the Steelers second receivers got last season Sanders stats should look something like this: 64 receptions, 900 yards, and 3 or 4 touchdowns. That would be a very good line for a second receiver and could be even better depending on how many targets Sanders ends up getting and whether or not his yards per catch goes up, down or stays the same. Even so, entering the starting line-up should do wonders for Sanders in terms of his impact on the offense.
Le’Veon Bell
Bell is a rookie so expecting him to have a big season may be a stretch and too high of expectations. Even so, Bell is supposed to start in 2013 for the team and has the ability to play all three downs, run inside, run outside and catch passes out of the backfield. That makes Bell a huge threat on offense and gives him a chance to make a big impact even as a rookie.
NFL.com recently ranked Bell as the number one fantasy rookie to watch out for in 2013. Although he may not be the top fantasy rookie when the end of the season comes around many are expecting big things from the 21 year-old back out of Michigan State.
Jason Worilds
The Steelers used their number one pick in the 2013 NFL Draft on outside linebacker Jarvis Jones out of Georgia, but he isn’t expected to start as a rookie. With James Harrison now out of Pittsburgh one of the young outside linebackers is going to have to 
step in and step up. All signs point to Worilds as being that player.
During his NFL career Worilds has been a back-up for Harrison and LaMarr Woodley. As a back-up Worilds has played his best ball on the left side of the defense. He will now have to step in on the right side and show that not only can he get to the quarterback and record sacks, but that he can also hold the edge in the run game.
Many think of the Steelers outside linebackers strictly as pass rushers, but one of Harrison’s best assets during his tenure with the team was his abilities against the run. Worilds has shown a knack for getting to the quarterback, but his play against the run on the right side has been a struggle and fixing that issue will be something for him to work on during the off-season.
Steve McLendon
McLendon just signed a new deal with the Steelers to be their starting nose tackle. He will be replacing one of the faces of the 
Steelers defense in Casey Hampton and it will be up to him to hold down the middle of the line against the run and create the pass rush from up the middle. One of McLendon’s biggest assets is his ability to rush the passer. That is something that Hampton never really brought to the table.
Last season as a reserve McLendon recorded three sacks in limited playing time. Hampton, who has played in most of the Steelers games since being drafted in 2001, never recorded more than 2.5 sacks in any one season. McLendon’s ability to get to the passer will be noticed next season, but he will also have to play against the run as well as Hampton has for so long.
McLendon should be able to play well against the run and the pass at nose tackle. Given his strength and ability to get into the backfield he should be able to make a big impact on the defense and he could end up as an upgrade over Hampton.
Cortez Allen
When Allen was drafted in 2011 he was expected to be a project player that would take two to three years to groom before being 
ready for the NFL. Even so, he was ready to play at the end of his rookie season and is now set to be a starter for the Steelers heading into his third season in the NFL.
Last season Allen started three games for the Steelers and showed some very good things in those games. In his three starts Allen combined for 23 tackles, three passes defensed, two interceptions and three forced fumbles. Hopefully for the Steelers he can continue to play that way when he starts. And with Keenan Lewis leaving during the off-season Allen is going to be pushed into the starting line-up in 2013 alongside Ike Taylor so we’ll have to wait and see if he lives up to the hype.
