The Steelers Can’t Afford Patience With Rookie Linemen
Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
For the last four seasons, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive line has been abysmal. While it showed some promise last season after a coordinator change and an infusion of talent, it still was below par for much of the year.
A lot of that was due to the atrocious work of former offensive coordinator Matt Canada. You could also place blame at the feet of the players on the field. It didn’t matter if the Black and Gold were trying to run the ball or move it through the air passing, the line simply couldn’t hold up its end of the bargain on a regular basis.
Fast forward to 2024, the Steelers suddenly have an opportunity to be one of the better offensive lines in the NFL. Issac Seumalo and James Daniels are above-average guards who are very physical at the point of attack. Both possess a huge punch and can move people against their will in small spaces. Running behind those behemoths was not the problem.
Center and left tackle are where the problems came in. Mason Cole and Dan Moore Jr struggled all last season and Pittsburgh has spent the last two drafts looking for their replacements. These have come in the form of Broderick Jones, Troy Fautanu, and Zach Frazier.
Jones played last season mostly at right tackle and performed well as he acclimated himself to the NFL. According to Mark Kaboly of The Athletic, the Steelers have named the second-year player out of Georgia as the starting left tackle. Kaboly also mentioned that Nate Herbig is slated to be the starting center, and that Fautanu and Moore will battle it out for the starting right tackle position. It’s an aggressive timetable, but the Steelers can’t afford to have patience with the rookies.
Frazier needs to start at center immediately, as Herbig is not a center by trade. As badly as Cole struggled last season, if the Steelers thought Herbig could hold down that role full-time, he would have been given the job at some point. So what is the reason for Frazier to be listed as the backup? What changed with Herbig? It doesn’t seem like there’s a good reason for Herbig to hold the inside track.
The “battle” for right tackle is even more baffling. It’s not like the Steelers haven’t given Moore Jr chances. The guy has 49 total starts in three seasons. We know what he is capable of. If Moore was the guy, why draft Fautanu? Pittsburgh could have used that draft capital toward other areas of need. But the Steelers got a top-10 talent at 20th overall 20 without even having to move up. The rookie out of Washington is that good, why go through this charade?
It’s understandable to not simply hand over a job to an unproven rookie. Creating as much competition as possible will only induce the best out of the participants. That’s great for the Steelers. However, there is a fine line between breeding competition and delaying development.
With such pressing needs at both center and right tackle, Pittsburgh can’t afford to do that. The schedule is extremely difficult. Yet the early part of the schedule is significantly less stressful, which makes it the perfect time for trying to break in rookies. Every rep in training camp the new guys can get is essential, as these guys need to be the Day One starters. Many teams around the league start rookies on the offensive line. Dan Moore Jr started from Day One back in 2021, and he was a fourth-round pick.
The time for gently easing these players into the NFL is over. If the guys aren’t ready, then maybe Pittsburgh made a mistake. Why take developmental guys in such positions of need with so much on the line? If these training camp “battles” are just lip service to have the incumbents save some face, sure, it’s OK for now. But once camp starts, it must be all pistons firing to get these guys up to speed. The expectations for this season demand it.
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