After undergoing a transformation over two offseasons, the offensive line for the Pittsburgh Steelers appeared to be in a good spot entering the 2023 season. There was a ton of continuity with veterans Mason Cole, James Daniels, Chukwuma Okorafor and Dan Moore Jr. returning to their respective positions for another year together, and a great veteran addition in left guard Isaac Seumalo via free agency.
Then, there was the decision to trade up in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft to land Georgia standout Broderick Jones, solidifying the offensive line overall.
Through two games of the regular season though, the offensive line has been rather poor, leading to some frustration internally and externally.
Cole is one who is frustrated with the overall execution within the scheme from the linemen. Speaking with reporters Wednesday from inside the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side, Cole stated that the Steelers’ offensive line is “just not blocking guys” and needs to improve quickly.
“You’re always trying to evolve, right? You’re always trying to do things better. It’s not like we’re out there trying to be worse than we were last year. We planed on it being better, our focus was on being better. We know it can be better,” Cole told reporters, according to video via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Chris Adamski on Twitter. “It’s at the point where now we’re just not executing. It’s not schematics, it’s not play calling, none of that. We’re just not blocking guys, we’re not making the throws, not making the reads. We’re just not executing at a high level, especially early in the games.”
Based on the way the offensive line closed out the 2022 season, the Steelers becoming the No. 7 rushing attack in football and protecting quarterback Kenny Pickett rather well, and then going out and making improvements to the group, expectations were rightfully high entering this season. The performance has come nowhere close to matching those expectations though.
Pittsburgh has struggled to generate any sort of rushing attack, recording just 96 net yards of rushing through two games on 31 attempts and running a franchise-record 124 plays through the first two games. Despite all those opportunities via snaps, Pittsburgh has just two offensive touchdowns in two games.
The offensive line has been a big problem. Seumalo has not been what many expected him to be so far. It’s still early, but he’s gotten off to a slow start. Cole and Daniels have really struggled as run blockers and in pass protection, while Moore has been the worst-graded offensive tackle the last two weeks, according to Pro Football Focus.
Execution continues to be a big talking point for the Steelers on offense. They are missing blocks, blowing assignments, not reading the defense correctly pre-snap and missing on throws and missing rushing lanes after the snap. They’ve got to get it in gear quickly. That includes the offensive line, which was supposed to be a strength entering the season.
