Entering the offseason, the offensive line for the Pittsburgh Steelers is widely believed to be the biggest need, at least from the national media’s perspective.
Knowing that, it’s not surprising to see offensive linemen paired with the Steelers in mock drafts, and now in free agency predictions. CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin was the latest to pair the Steelers with a lineman in his unique free agency mock draft Friday. Instead of it being the standard draft order for mock drafts, Benjamin placed the order in terms of cap space entering free agency, which put the Steelers at No. 18 overall, just one slot off of where they’ll pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
In the exercise, the Steelers were paired with former Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive tackle Andrew Wylie, while losing cornerback Cameron Sutton at No. 11 overall in the exercise to the Detroit Lions.
“The Steelers could use fresh bodies on both sides of the ball, especially with internal free agents at LB and CB, but priority No. 1 should be restoring the trenches for QB Kenny Pickett,” Benjamin writes regarding his selection of Wylie in the free agency mock draft for the Steelers. “While Wylie, 28, is nowhere near the physical talent of fellow Chiefs tackle Orlando Brown Jr., he’s fresh off a sterling Super Bowl run and racked up 59 starts for K.C.’s emergent dynasty.”
Wylie is a rather interesting name overall, and is largely overlooked entering free agency despite the stellar Super Bowl run with the Chiefs in 2022.
In his career, Wylie has played all over the offensive line, including 1,088 snaps at right tackle in 2022 for Kansas City. Prior to his full season as the start at right tackle, Wylie played 1,699 total snaps at right guard from 2018-20 with the Chiefs, another 574 snaps at left guard in 2019, and then 521 snaps in 2021 at right tackle in a reserve role for Kansas City.
Last season, Wylie earned just $2.385 million in base salary, counting just $1.187 million against the cap for the Chiefs. He graded out at a 63.1 overall in Pro Football Focus’ grading metrics, including a 64.3 run blocking grade and a 60.8 pass blocking grade. PFF charged him with nine sacks allowed on the season and 49 total pressures, along with eight penalties on the season, but he was superb in the postseason, allowing just five total pressures in three games, including just one in the Super Bowl against the Eagles.
At just 28 years old and with his positional versatility, Wylie should be the type of name the Steelers are looking at in free agency, at least when it comes to addressing depth and bringing in serious competition, whether that’s at left guard for Kevin Dotson or right tackle for Chukwuma Okorafor, which is what Wylie would be.
It’s a realistic name, and a solid one, that Benjamin pairs with the Steelers.
