The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to land multiple Pro Bowls and All-Pros this season. But several players played important roles without garnering as much praise for it. Here are the three unsung heroes from last season.

CB Mike Hilton

Hilton has had his ups and downs over the last two seasons. However, he remains one of the most explosive guys on the team and a real Swiss Army knife at cornerback. Whatever Pittsburgh asked Hilton to do he did if it was to drop into coverage, blitz or stick his nose into the line of scrimmage in the run game.

DL Javon Hargrave

One guy who never lit up the boxscore but always came to play was Hargrave. The Jets game, in particular, stood out to me as a game that really displayed how hard it is for Hargrave to be blocked. Cam Heyward gets all the headlines along the defensive line but Hargrave is a guy the Steelers will miss if they don’t re-sign him this offseason.

OT Zach Banner

To the fans, Banner quickly became a folk hero last season. The cheers from the Heinz Field crowd when they announced No. 72 was eligible were deafening. But more than just the novelty of a guy like Banner, he’s a really good football player too. He earned that sixth lineman spot ahead of Chuks Okorafor and kept Okorafor off the active roster for much of the season.

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