The Pittsburgh Steelers ended up trading two former starting offensive linemen last season in Kevin Dotson and Kendrick Green. Both of them went on to have more success with their new teams than they had with the Steelers. Dotson in particular developed into a top guard with the Los Angeles Rams, who re-signed him for $48 million.
Green had fewer opportunities to play with the Houston Texans, but at least he played, starting three games. That included a start against the Steelers, and he did look marginally better, making some key blocks. That’s a far cry from Pittsburgh giving him looks at fullback to try to help him earn a roster spot.
But offensive line trainer Duke Manyweather, who works with both Dotson and Green, always had a problem with how the Steelers used them. He’s naturally biased, of course, but now he has tangible results to bolster his case.
“It’s very simple. I respect Coach [Mike] Tomlin, I respect Pat Meyer. I’ve got a great relationship with both of them, and I’ve been very frank with them about this”, he told Brian Batko for the Chipped Ham and Football podcast yesterday.
“Kendrick Green should have been playing left guard from the start like he is down in Houston, and Kevin Dotson should have been playing right guard from the start”, he said. “There’s this conversation that always goes on that, ‘Oh, well, guys have got to be able to play both sides’. That’s bullshit”.
Dotson spent the entirety of his football life playing right guard, including 48 starts at Louisiana-Lafayette. He got a couple of spot starts early on as a 2020 rookie for the injured David DeCastro, and looked very good there. Later, they moved him to left guard after Matt Feiler went down, and he looked less comfortable. The following season, he took over the left guard job and struggled more. The Rams moved him back to right guard and then decided he was worth $16 million per year, so there you go.
As for Green, the Steelers moved him to center after making a few college starts there, as opposed to his 29 starts at left guard. He competed against Dotson for the left guard job in 2022, but lost. Last season, with the Texans, he started three games at left guard before suffering an injury, his best game coming against the Steelers. He particularly showed well in pass protection.
“I understand getting your best five, but if you’re drafting a guy and you have an opportunity to play him at his college position that he’s had success at, play him at that position”, Manyweather said. Of Dotson, he said, “Left guard was never comfortable for him”. Regarding Green, he said that moving him to center “nullified his natural talents.
To the Steelers’ credit, they didn’t just give up on Dotson and Green. They signed James Daniels to start at right guard in 2022. Last year, they added Isaac Seumalo to start at left guard. Both are above-average starters at their positions, and frankly are cheaper than Dotson is now. And as for Green, he still struggled when playing at guard in training camp, so that’s on him. Although they did move him back to center last year to see if he could win the backup job.
