For the past few seasons, the Pittsburgh Steelers needed help on the offensive line as old stalwarts like Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro, and Ramon Foster all retired or were released. Steelers GM Omar Khan and assistant GM Andy Weidl have made it a point to address the offensive line, using three draft picks in the first two rounds on offensive lineman in the past two drafts.
Last year, Khan traded up for OT Broderick Jones in the first round, and this year he used his first two picks on OT Troy Fautanu and OC Zach Frazier. Today, Frazier had his introductory press conference, which was streamed on the Steelers YouTube page, and said how excited he is to be part of a young offensive line group.
“I think the pieces are there to have, like you said, a good core group of guys for a long period of time,” Frazier said. “I think at offensive line it’s important to build chemistry with the guys next to you. That’s kind of how it was with me at West Virginia, we had the same group of guys for basically three years. By my senior year, last year, we were all pretty tight and kind of knew what each other were, were thinking, and stuff like that. So definitely excited for that.”
Chemistry on the offensive line is vital. It is something the Steelers had during the Pouncey era but lost as that core group of offensive linemen either retired or left the team. In the rebuild that folllowed, the Steelers tried to plug and play different veterans and young guys and it just never worked out as the line always seemed out of sync.
Now, the Steelers have young offensive lineman with plenty of talent and potential. Of tackles Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu and Frazier, Fautanu is the oldest at only 23 years old. All three should be able to grow together for a some time.
It also helps that the Steelers’ line does have some veterans on it. Guards James Daniel and Isaac Seumalo both are second-contract players who each has played at least six years in the NFL. Even OT Dan Moore Jr., who with the addition of Fautanu will likely head to the bench, has shown to be a leader and a teacher helping Jones develop last season.
Pittsburgh has a great blend of talented youth and veteran presence on the offensive line right now. Khan and Weidl have made it a point to fix the offensive line problems that have plagued the Steelers since 2020. If Jones, Fautanu, and Frazier come close to what some expect the rebuild should be complete soon.
