Tim Benz: Steelers offensive line better suited to endure injuries it managed to avoid a year ago
Share this post:
Throughout the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2022 preseason, the offensive line was such a concern that it almost equaled the scuttlebutt surrounding who would replace Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback.
That continued into the regular season where, slowly but surely, the Steelers offensive front managed to gain a little traction.
Familiarity eventually led to consistency, and, by the end of the season, the Steelers offensive linemen — none of whom missed a start — ended up stringing together a pretty good collective season.
“We weren’t playing at a super high level early in the year, but things started to click just like everybody else after the bye week,” center Mason Cole said of the team’s 7-2 finish in 2022. “We got the run game going, and it just helps everything out. We got comfortable with each other. We got so many reps underneath us, and the communication was good. It was a work in progress all year, but I think as the season went along, we just got better and better.”
They were not the Hogs of the (then) Washington Redskins or the Dallas Cowboys unit of the 1990s. But they were good.
However, that didn’t stop the front office from beefing up the unit in the offseason. Isaac Seumalo and Nate Herbig were signed in free agency. Both have the ability to play guard or center. Both appear to have pushed last year’s starter at left guard, Kevin Dotson, down the depth chart.
The franchise also made Georgia tackle Broderick Jones its first-round pick. And they selected do-everything lineman Spencer Anderson out of Maryland as a reserve piece who can play tackle, guard and center.
It reinforced a sense that coach Mike Tomlin frequently gave off about his offensive line when talking about its improvement over the course of 2022. He never strayed from focusing on the standpoint of its continuity as the biggest reason why the unit developed as well as it did.
“The most significant thing about the development of our offensive line is the availability of that group,” Tomlin said at his season-ending press conference. “The continuity required to grow is a major component of it, and we’re thankful that not only do we have really good consistent in-game performance with that group, but just good practice ability and consistency in that area from that group. It starts first with availability and then the work.”
The message sent by those words and the actions of the offseason was two-pronged:
1. As nice of a job as the O-line did to steadily improve over 17 weeks of 2022, it can still be better in ‘23, especially when it comes to winning consistently in the run game. The Steelers were tied for 25th in the NFL at 4.1 yards per rush last year.
2. If continuity is so important, they can’t have any black holes if (or when) one of the starting five finally suffers an extended injury.
Presumably, Cole will be flanked by Seumalo and James Daniels at the guard spots. If returning starters Chuks Okorafor and Dan Moore Jr. win the tackle jobs, the backup linemen could be an established veteran in Herbig, a rookie first-round talent in Jones and a guy with 30 starts under his belt in Dotson (or another former starter in Kendrick Green if he is kept for his newfound fullback capabilities).
More sports
• Mike Tomlin: Kenny Pickett, first-teamers will ‘play more’ in Steelers’ 2nd preseason game
• Steelers WR Calvin Austin ready to see what he can do for encore in 2nd preseason game
• Rotating cast of leadoff hitters make mixed 1st impression atop Pirates lineup
Last year’s depth chart was much thinner than that, heightening the need for the O-line to stay every bit as healthy as it did.
“We’re not playing with the same five. It’s just not gonna happen,” offensive line coach Pat Meyer said of replicating last year’s run of good health in 2023. “It’s a freak thing that happened last year. I’ve only seen it, maybe one other time in my 12 years in the NFL. So we’re going to have to have multiple guys. That’s a good thing for us.”
Barring a wave of injuries over the last two preseason games, it appears the Steelers are better girded for such an eventuality to begin 2023. That’s not only in terms of quality of depth but the ability to be malleable along the offensive line as well.
Moore can play both tackle spots. Perhaps guards by trade, Herbig, Green, Seumalo and Daniels, can all snap if necessary.
“I talked about this at the draft,” general manager Omar Khan said during training camp. “Position flexibility was important on the O-line for us, and I think we got that.”
Perhaps the biggest question facing Meyer, Tomlin and offensive coordinator Matt Canada is if they are truly going to start the best five players. The interior three of Cole, Daniels and Seumalo seem to be an easy call.
But the question becomes if Jones’ blue-chip talent should supersede Moore’s notable improvement over the past two years or Okorafor’s experience (and $13 million contract) on the right side. Because, in theory, if Jones and Moore are perceived by the coaches to be the best two options at tackle, Moore could flip to the right side and allow Jones to start on the left side.
Or the team could just give the first-round pick the starting gig on the left side and let Moore swing between left and right as needed.
That may be Moore’s eventual role. But at least to begin 2023, my hunch is he and Okorafor will keep their starting jobs, and Jones will incubate until injury, or his natural development, force him into the lineup.
“He’s young. He’s very athletic. He’s very heavy in terms of his lower body. He’s big. He’s got big glutes to anchor guys down. He just needs to keep continuing to learn this game. This game is different,” Meyer said of Jones.
Whatever the case, at least the Steelers have options along the offensive line now. Something they didn’t have a year ago.
Something that was fortunately never tested, or else that 9-8 result could’ve looked a lot worse.
Listen: Tim Benz speaks with offensive line coach Pat Meyer.