On PFT Live, Mike Florio and Chris Simms named their offensive lines that can make or break a team, and Florio picked Pittsburgh as the line that can carry the Steelers or cause them to crumble.
“Kenny Pickett, quiet, sneaky under-the-radar concussion issues with him, he had two last year,” Florio said. He added a great offensive line will “help minimize” the possibility of Pickett sustaining another.
“They need to open holes for Najee Harris,” who Florio said has been a little bit up-and-down and a bit disappointing relative to his draft slot.
“That offensive line is what’s going to determine whether or not this Steelers offense works in 2023. They’ve got the defense, and they’ve got the skill position players on offense. They need the offense line to bring it all together and contend in a very difficult AFC North.”
Pittsburgh’s offensive line has been one of their pitfalls in recent years, but it’s a group the front office has worked hard to improve over the past few offseasons. They added Mason Cole and James Daniels last year, and both of them were key cogs to Pittsburgh’s mild turnaround last season. Now, with Isaac Seumalo, Broderick Jones and Nate Herbig all being signed or drafted this offseason, the unit is a lot deeper and should be a lot better.
But if the offensive line can’t play up to their talent, then Pittsburgh will have a tough year. QB Kenny Pickett has been getting better when it comes to going through his progressions and making the right reads, but he won’t be able to if he doesn’t have time to throw. RB Najee Harris is looking to have a breakout season after being inefficient over his first two years in the league, but if there are no holes for him to run, he’s going to struggle with efficiency yet again. It all sets up for Pittsburgh’s offense to have a disappointing year.
But with Daniels and Cole back and Seumalo, one of the best guards in the NFL, added to the mix alongside potentially Jones or an improved Dan Moore Jr. and Chukwuma Okorafor, I think Pittsburgh’s line should be solid. It’ll be good enough to get them into the postseason and certainly shouldn’t be a glaring weakness like it has been in the past. It might not be a top-five O-Line in the league, but it should be at least above average.
If it’s not though, Florio is right in saying that Pittsburgh’s offense just won’t work. The pieces are in place for success, but if they fail to live up to their talent level, the Steelers will struggle. While I don’t foresee it happening with this iteration of the offensive line, it certainly is a position group that will make-or-break the team.
