The Pittsburgh Steelers need somebody who can play right tackle if Broderick Jones is to play on the left side. Even Dan Moore Jr. is skeptical about playing on the right side, but what about Spencer Anderson?
Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette raised that possibility in his latest chat. The 2023 seventh-round draft pick can play all five positions, but the coaches reportedly like him at tackle.
“Don’t discount Spencer Anderson at right tackle in camp and Jones at left if Moore can’t play on the right side”, he wrote in his latest chat. “They really liked what Anderson showed them at tackle in training camp last year”.
Trading up for Jones in the 2023 NFL Draft in the first round marked a significant moment. The assumption: the Steelers had just secured their left tackle of the future. But he spent the majority of his rookie season starting at right tackle instead. And they are not publicly committed to moving him over to the left side any time soon.
After releasing Chukwuma Okorafor, however, their only tackles with experience are Jones and Moore. All of the latter’s experience is on the left side, though, and even he seems skeptical about playing on the right. He will, of course, give it a try if he has to. But head coach Mike Tomlin described him as “significantly better” at left tackle.
So with Okorafor gone and if Moore is not an option, what are the alternatives? Well, there are two second-year players with virtually no experience. Dylan Cook is one option after spending his rookie season as a healthy scratch. Anderson is the other.
Most viewed the Maryland product as an afterthought when the Steelers drafted him with the 251st pick. But he not only made the 53-man roster, he dressed as the eighth lineman. Granted, he only played two snaps on offense all season, though he added 26 snaps on special teams.
The Steelers have a history of developing unpedigreed offensive linemen, though that history is fading. Their success stories in recent times include Ramon Foster, Matt Feiler, Kelvin Beachum, and especially Alejandro Villanueva. The latter made the Pro Bowl twice as the Steelers’ left tackle. At one time, he, Foster, and Feiler all started on the same unit with first-rounders Maurkice Pouncey and David DeCastro.
But where are the more recent diamonds in the rough? Sure, they’ve found some elsewhere like RB Jaylen Warren, but how about the trenches? I suppose J.C. Hassenauer is the closest thing and before him B.J. Finney. They could certainly use another home run developmental starter, though.
And the right tackle position in 2024 seems like the ideal time and place. Maybe Jones can thrive at right tackle, but why take the time to find out if you don’t need to? Surely the Steelers don’t view Moore as a long-term franchise left tackle deserving of a considerable extension next year. He is under contract for 2024, but after that, he hits the open market.
Many expect Pittsburgh to tackle the position in free agency or the draft, but don’t overlook internal development. Both Anderson and Cook earned their places on the roster. The Steelers traded Kevin Dotson and Kendrick Green in part because they liked their depth.
