With the Steelers’ 2023 offseason underway following a disappointing season that came up just short of reaching the playoffs, it’s time to begin reloading, through the free agency process, through the draft, and perhaps even through trade.
This is now a young team on the offensive side of the ball, though one getting older on defense, and both sides could stand to be supplemented robustly, including in the trenches—either one. Changes have been made to the coaching staff, even if not all of the desired ones, as the roster continues to renew with the weeks ticking by.
These sorts of uncertainties are what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
Topic Statement: The defensive line room is wide open after the top four locks.
Explanation: To start with, the four locks are Cameron Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi, and the two most recent draft picks, DeMarvin Leal and Keeanu Benton. The remainder of the group primarily consists of Montravius Adams, Isaiahh Loudermilk, Breiden Fehoko, and Armon Watts. That’s at least four serious candidates for either two or three roster spots.
Buy:
Nobody beyond the named four has earned a job or has the pedigree that would command a safe roster spot, so the obvious answer is that the topic statement is correct. Montravius Adams has no better grip on a roster spot right now than does Breiden Fehoko, and likewise, Isaiahh Loudermilk is no more assured of anything than is Armon Watts.
After all, Fehoko and Watts were two signings made by the ‘new’ front office led by Omar Khan and Andy Weidl, who fit a different vision, or at least a modified one, of what the Steelers are looking to be in the trenches. When you have that kind of transition, incumbency doesn’t buy you many favors.
Sell:
That might be the word from the front office, if there is even much credence to that theory—both Fehoko and Watts were budget signings with no guarantees— but the reality is that the coaching staff has the final say on the roster, particularly head coach Mike Tomlin, with input from the position coaches.
Karl Dunbar has been working with Adams and Loudermilk for the past two years and knows who they are, knows how they work. They are going to be favored at the outset. After all, they wouldn’t still be here after two years if they didn’t like what they were doing.
Loudermilk’s second season is pretty much a wash because of injuries. He’ll come in fresh and look like the player the coaches believed he would be. As for Adams, he was already the starting nose tackle last year. He combines the best of both Fehoko and Watts, because he can play the run but also has agility and some pass-rush potential. The guys who have been here have a wider repertoire available to them. If one of the others makes the team, it will be because the Steelers are carrying seven linemen, or somebody got injured.
