OTAs don’t often provide a tremendous amount of insight. It’s still football in shorts and the very beginning of the evaluation process. But there’s often a worthy nugget or two of information worth passing along. Kendrick Green provided one today, telling reporters he saw time at guard during today’s practice.
That’s what The Trib’s Chris Adamski tweeted out a short time ago.
Without hearing the entire comment, it’s hard to tell if Green exclusively worked at guard or if he split time between center and guard. It’s also unclear if he worked left or right guard, or both. At Illinois, he was the team’s starting left guard, so it makes sense for him to see today’s work there.
Drafted in the third round last year, Green was tabbed as Maurkice Pouncey’s replacement at center. Pittsburgh made him their starter from day one, but Green, new to the game and position, struggled. He struggled with bull rushes, fell off blocks too easily, and had basic issues snapping the ball accurately and on-time. An injury late in the season caused him to be benched and even when he was healthy, remained the team’s backup behind J.C. Hassenauer.
Green’s apparent move to guard may make him more comfortable, but he’ll have to improve his technique and hand use or else the same issues he had at center will remain at guard.
Pittsburgh signed James Daniels and Mason Cole this offseason, two interior players with center experience. As of this writing, it’s not known who was taking center reps today. Daniels played center in college while Cole has spent the bulk of his NFL career in the middle.
Though seemingly improved, the Steelers’ offensive line is again one of its biggest question marks and X-Factors of the year. New offensive line coach Pat Meyer certainly has his work cut out for him.
Update (12:32 PM): According to beat reporter Jim Wexell, Kevin Dotson worked as first team LG, Mason Cole at center, and James Daniels at RG.
Presuming Dan Moore Jr. and Chukwuma Okorafor were also starters, the Steelers’ front five looked like:
LT – Dan Moore Jr.
LG – Kevin Dotson
C – Mason Cole
RG – James Daniels
RT – Chukwuma Okorafor
