When a former NFL Defensive Player of the Year starts talking about which defense could dominate in 2025, you listen. Luke Kuechly didn’t hesitate when asked about the league’s top unit, and his answer might surprise some fans. The Cincinnati native admitted he hates to say it, but Pittsburgh has caught his attention in a big way.
What Makes Luke Kuechly Think Pittsburgh Could Have the NFL’s Best Defense?
Appearing on “Up & Adams,” former Carolina Panthers linebacker and NFL Defensive Rookie and Player of the Year Kuechly provided his expert insight into what we should make of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense in 2025.
In the clip, Adams starts by asking Kuechly who he thinks could have the best defense in the NFL in 2025. After all, Kuechly was the Defensive Player of the Year in 2013, so who better to ask?
“Is there a team that you’re willing to say will be the best defense in the NFL this season?” Adams asked Kuechly.
“I’m from Cincinnati and I hate to say it, but I think Pittsburgh’s always tough,” Kuechly began.
Jalen Ramsey at Safety? 🤔
Luke Kuechly on the potentially “dangerous” Steelers defense@heykayadams | @LukeKuechly #HereWeGo pic.twitter.com/XxTX8TtKmR
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) July 14, 2025
Kuechly then mentioned the “T.J. Watt situation,” referring to his ongoing contract war with the team. He also brought up Minkah Fitzpatrick being part of the deal with the Miami Dolphins for the team to acquire cornerback Jalen Ramsey and tight end Jonnu Smith.
Beyond the contract drama, Kuechly covered other areas of the defense. He praised edge rushers Watt and Alex Highsmith, along with Cam Heyward, in the interior.
Then he discussed the position he played during his career: linebacker.
“… they’ve got some dudes and Patrick Queen, and you guys know I love Payton Wilson at the linebacker level, so they’ve got a little bit of everything. They’ve got a three-level approach that I like. I think they just gotta figure out, do they feel good about Juan Thornhill at safety stepping in for Minkah? And then I think the T.J. Watt stuff gets figured out, but that defense I think on all three levels, again, is gonna have a really, really good opportunity to be a dangerous team this year in the NFL.”
Kuechly makes a sound argument. The Steelers’ defense is loaded with talent, and Adams backed him up further by citing some eye-popping statistics.
“I mean, they were second in turnovers, ranked 12th in yards allowed, eighth in points per game, I love everything you’re saying,” Adams said.
Additionally, the Steelers ranked 12th in PFSN’s Defense+ metric.
Should Jalen Ramsey Move to Safety for Pittsburgh?
Then Adams hit Kuechly with a big question: “Do you think Jalen stepping in at safety for Minkah?” Adams asked.
“Be a good question. I wonder how they’ll play him. I don’t know what they’re gonna do… they have three starters… Darius Slay, Joey Porter, and then Jalen Ramsey. Does he slide in and play the nickel position, or do they kinda rotate those guys around? But I think when you have when you have really good players like that, you can figure out where to play ’em, but yeah, could they play him at safety? Absolutely. I just like when you have a lot of DBs and a lot of talent and a lot of speed and length, you’ve got a shot to be pretty good.”
Adams asked, “Should they?” toward the end of his answer. Kuechly didn’t answer it at first, but Adams followed up asking the same question.
“Should they? Beanie Bishop was good in that nickel spot last year, too, should they do that with Jalen?” Adams said with a graphic on the screen featuring Slay, Porter Jr., DeShon Elliott, Ramsey, and Bishop.
“I kinda like that lineup right there, I think there’s a lot of teams in the NFL that would say ‘hey if this is our five-man secondary, we’re in pretty good shape.'”
It’s safe to say Kuechly thinks quite highly of the Steelers’ defense heading into 2025.
