The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted three offensive linemen with their first five picks in the 2024 NFL Draft in Washington OT Troy Fautanu at No. 20 overall, West Virginia C Zach Frazier in the second round and South Dakota State G Mason McCormick in the fourth round. Rebuilding the offensive line has been a focus under general manager Omar Khan and assistant general manager Andy Weidl, and with Arthur Smith on board as Pittsburgh’s offensive coordinator, the team is going to be a physical, ground-and-pound team. During an appearance on NFL Network, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said the team’s plan is to “roll people, ” which went into its draft strategy of addressing the offensive line.
“We just wanna roll people,” Tomlin said late Saturday afternoon. “We got some backs that we like, we got a good offensive line, we took Broderick Jones a year ago. This draft pool or class we thought was really loaded with some top-end offensive line talent, and we just wanted to draw from that well.”
During an appearance on ESPN’s draft coverage, Tomlin furthered his comments and called this offensive line “uniquely talented.”
“I thought it was a uniquely talented offensive line selected in this draft. We were able to draw from that well and fortify our line of scrimmage to go along with some young people that we’ve been able to acquire in recent drafts like Broderick Jones,” he said.
The Steelers have always been a tough, hard-nosed football team built on a strong defense and a strong run game. The best teams in Steelers history were led by a stout defense and a strong run game, and Pittsburgh is getting back to that gritty mentality. Fautanu and Jones are the future at offensive tackle. Frazier comes in at center with a wrestling background and is an incredibly physical offensive lineman who loves to maul people. McCormick is a tough kid and a bully on the offensive line who will provide quality depth this year and could be a future starter.
It’s gonna be a lot of fun to watch the Steelers work this season in the first season with Smith as their offensive coordinator and a strong run game led by Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. Russell Wilson and Justin Fields provide upgrades to the quarterback room, but the Steelers are going to be a run-heavy team this season, and it should be a lot of fun to watch. They need to get back to having a strong offensive line, and this draft sure signals that it’s not only a priority but that the Steelers are committed to making it happen.
We’ll get our first look at Pittsburgh’s rookies during rookie minicamp two weeks from now, and seeing a lot of new big maulers up front will be pretty awesome. Drafting Jones in the first round last year and signing Isaac Seumalo in free agency was a start. Now with Fautanu, Frazier and McCormick aboard, the Steelers’ offensive line should be ready to take over and start rolling people.
