Every player the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted in 2023 remains rostered under their rookie contract. Although seventh-round CB Cory Trice Jr. is on the Reserve/Injured List, nobody was waived from their deal, in extreme rarity, if not unique in the team’s history.
Inarguably the biggest question mark in completing that achievement was the Steelers’ other seventh-round pick, OL Spencer Anderson. Pittsburgh traded two offensive linemen who were former starters in order to do it, but he did make the 53-man roster, as did first-year former college free agent Dylan Cook.
Both of them had a strong summer in different aspects, the common theme between both being their willingness to display versatility along with their ascension up the depth chart.
Having experienced veterans who are more than willing to help out surely helped. Indeed, Anderson was very complimentary of veteran C Mason Cole, now in his sixth season, who is the vocal leader of the Steelers’ line room.
“He answers my questions before I even ask them. He’s that kind of guy”, Anderson said of Cole, via Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, a characterization that has not by any means been uncommon in talking of the veteran center.
Signed as an unrestricted free agent a year ago, he immediately took over the starting center role and went to work in building up the leadership of the room, along with their other free agent, James Daniels. The two of them added much-needed veteran experience and leadership, and they continue to be the bedrock of the room.
The youngest starter is now going into his third season, that being LT Dan Moore Jr., who has started every game of his career barring one due to injury. He held off the challenge of rookie first-round pick Broderick Jones, though that will be a constant threat throughout the year.
Outside of the presence of Chukwuma Okorafor at right tackle, who is now in his sixth season since the Steelers drafted him in 2018, the line was further bolstered in unrestricted free agency with the signing of veteran guard Isaac Seumalo from the Philadelphia Eagles.
Just two years ago, this looked like an offensive line full of infants, sans the somewhat unwilling adult in Trai Turner, a veteran former Pro Bowler who was an emergency signing after David DeCastro was let go due to injury.
Now it’s a very different room, one with a great deal of experience, cultivated both organically and through free agency. The Steelers are hoping that Jones and Anderson will become a part of that in time, but right now they are sitting back and soaking up all the information that they can from the guys who are in front of them, learning along the way about how things are done.
