The defense has been the backbone of the Pittsburgh Steelers for a very long time. But last season, this group ran out of gas late in the season and didn’t do its part to keep this team in the mix. Pittsburgh finished 10-7 but backed into the playoffs and got blown out by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round.

This offseason has been a busy one for the Steelers as they have turned over a significant number of players on the roster, including the defense. We decided to do an updated projection for the starting defense with training camp upon us and by our count, there are going to be six new starters on the defensive side of the football.

Defensive tackle

Cameron Heyward

Defensive end

Derrick Harmon

Nose tackle

Keeanu Benton

Outside linebacker

T.J. Watt

Alex Highsmith

Inside linebacker

Payton Wilson

Patrick Queen

Cornerabck

Jalen Ramsey

Joey Porter Jr.

Slot cornerback

Darius Slay

Free safety

Juan Thornhill

Strong safety

DeShon Elliott

This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Projecting the Steelers starting defense ahead of training camp