Pittsburgh Steelers rookie seventh-round OL Spencer Anderson has gotten a lot of work across the offensive line in training camp, especially in recent days. Anderson played three different positions, getting snaps at right tackle, right guard and left guard over the course of 37 total snaps. Before Pittsburgh’s second-to-last training camp practice earlier today, OL James Daniels praised Anderson’s knowledge and work ethic.
“He’s done a good job. Our vets in the room, they’re really hard on him and he does a really good job of taking information and applying to practice. So I think he’s doing good so far.”
Daniels applied a cooking analogy when asked about the difficulty of Anderson moving across the line.
“If you’re cooking or something and you’ll always use stainless steel, but you go over to someone else’s house and they choose non-stick. It’s stuff like that, it’s the same thing but it’s different ways to do it. Spencer does a good job. He knows when we call a play, he knows left tackle does this, right tackle does this. Even if he’s at right tackle, he knows the left tackle, left guard should be doing this. So when he looks at the plays like that, it’s easier for him to understand everything,” Daniels said via Steelers.com
It’s not easy for established NFL veterans to slide into different positions along the offensive line, so it’s certainly not easy for a rookie trying to fight for his place on the roster. But Anderson has seemingly handled it well thus far, being able to rep at different positions in the game, and that versatility can help him stake a claim for a spot on the 53-man roster.
Anderson also got reps at center in practice on Tuesday, and being able to play center could be the key for him to stick on the roster. Pittsburgh currently lacks a true backup center behind Mason Cole, and while it’s likely too late for Anderson to immediately earn that role, it could come with more practice and reps, even when camp breaks. His ability to know what every position does should also come in handy at center, as you have to be the anchor and one of the leaders of the line as the man in the middle.
In total, Anderson finished with a 56.7 PFF grade, but he had one of the highest-pass blocking grades on the team at an 84.6. On the contrary, his run-blocking grade was among the worst on the team at 46.1, but it was nice to see him display his versatility in a game setting. That makes him enticing as a bottom-of-the-roster offensive lineman with the ability to develop into more.
Anderson is going to be someone to watch closely in the final two preseason games, as his roster spot will be determined by his performance in the team’s final two games, against the Buffalo Bills and Atlanta Falcons. If he continues to flash his versatility and looks good at various positions, he will look like a really nice value pick late in the 2023 NFL Draft.
