With about a month left in the NFL season, the contenders are truly revealing themselves while others are still fighting to solidify playoff spots ahead of the new year.
Often, the top teams receive all the attention, leaving the next tier overlooked.
However, a former player recently identified what he believes is the sleeper team that everyone should watch closely.
On Monday’s episode of “Up & Adams,” former cornerback Aqib Talib said that the Pittsburgh Steelers are his sleeper team and gave plenty of credit to their “championship defense.”
He noted, “(George) Pickens…he’s now a top-three receiver in our league…I’m taking him over everybody.”
Aqib Talib on one of the reasons why the #Steelers are his SLEEPER team. ?
"[George] Pickens…he's now a top three receiver in our league…I'm taking him over everybody." ? ?@heykayadams @AqibTalib21 @Steelers | #HereWeGo pic.twitter.com/4UQUsgP1OZ
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) December 9, 2024
Talib said Pickens is the best receiver in the league outside of Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson, which is one of the hottest takes of the year and likely dripping in recency bias.
Still, Pickens has been playing solid ball ever since Russell Wilson took over at quarterback.
Making the quarterback switch was a controversial move after Justin Fields started 4-2, but Mike Tomlin knew what he was doing, as Russ has found new life in this offense.
Wilson has been the team’s best quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger, and he has fans thinking about the Super Bowl once again for the first time in years.
Talib’s assessment of this defense is correct.
Pittsburgh absolutely has a championship-level defense with incredible talent at each level.
As long as this offense can keep cooking like it has over the past few months, the Steelers certainly could be that sleeper contender Talib is talking about.
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