Remember when you were a kid and your mom would put your good test grades on the fridge? Well, if the 2023 offseason was a test, and sports media websites were the teachers, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ fridge wouldn’t have any room left.
Pittsburgh earned another rave review on their offseason from FootballOutsiders.com. The scoring system they employed earned them a B for Improved Roster, a B+ for Used Resources Well, and a B+ for Coherent Plan.
All of this equaled out to a B+ overall grade for the team. Their most glowing praise from author Cale Clinton came with the signing of former Eagles guard Isaac Seumalo.
“Isaac Seumalo was the biggest name among interior offensive linemen in free agency, finishing with a 1.6% blown block rate on the highest snap count of his career. He posted the sixth-best blown block rate among guards with at least 1,000 snaps.”
Seumalo’s signing was the team’s biggest splash of this free agency cycle as the Steelers clearly are taking aim at improving the trenches. Last season the team finished in the middle of the pack in terms of rushing yards and rushing yards per game. As the league continues to swing back to a run-heavy scheme to counter lighter boxes faced down-to-down due to a league-wide passing surge, Omar Khan and company have invested heavily on the offensive line by signing Seumalo and Nate Herbig.
Don’t be surprised if more meat is added to the group as the team continues to scout and meet with linemen in this year’s draft class.
Football Outsiders also applauded the Steelers for filling holes left by exiting free agents. Patrick Peterson, Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts were viewed as positive signings for the Black and Gold at a low price.
“With the core defensive personnel already in place, maintaining a strong supporting cast was a priority for Pittsburgh this offseason. Doing it for a combined 2023 cap hit of just under $5.5 million (per OverTheCap) is doing it with style points.”
While it is an awesome feeling getting a good grade, it’s even better when you outscore your counterparts. Of all of the teams in the AFC North, Pittsburgh was given the highest marks with the Cleveland Browns getting a B, the Cincinnati Bengals getting B-, and the Baltimore Ravens getting C-. In fact, only the Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears, and Seattle Seahawks graded out higher in the entire NFL.
If anyone has a problem with that, they can take it to Football Outsiders’ office hours.
