For the last few seasons under former offensive coordinator Matt Canada, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive identity has been a bit of an unknown. They clearly wanted to be a team with a strong rushing attack behind Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, but they were one-dimensional, and this limited their effectiveness.
Canada placed a strong emphasis on pre-snap motion, but what were they actually accomplishing with the motion? They had a quarterback in Kenny Pickett who didn’t really have the autonomy to see how defenses reacted to the motion and check to different plays, and the tendencies when using motion were very clear. They ranked 30th in terms of using pre-snap motion on passing plays in 2023, but they have been in the top six for pre-snap motion on running plays, per Matt Harmon of Yahoo Sports. So, if they were using pre-snap motion, it was a pretty strong tell that it was going to be a running play.
The offense really didn’t do anything well until the last several weeks of the season when the run game started to come alive, but a lot of that boiled down to having no clear identity under Canada.
Broderick Jones was asked about the offense’s identity taking shape under OC Arthur Smith during one of the OTA practices last week.
“I do think we have an identity. I think we wanna lean on the offensive line in the run game and our running backs, but we still have the ability to go over your head as well, too,” Jones said in a video posted by Post-Gazette Sports Now on YouTube. “I feel like we have a happy medium between what kind of plays we can run and what kind of play style that everybody can play at. We have so many good players on the offensive side of the ball that no matter what it is, as long as all 11 execute their assignment, I think we’ll be okay.”
It certainly helps that the Steelers invested heavily in their offensive line, with their first two picks in the 2024 NFL Draft spent on what should eventually be year-one starters at center and offensive tackle. The two weakest links from last year’s OL have been upgraded, and that should mean great things for the unit once they can gel and settle into their new roles. Even with a couple of weak links, the Steelers managed to have one of the best rushing attacks over the last several weeks of the season in 2023, and they should be able to build off of that with an upgraded unit.
Mike Tomlin made it clear that they want to “roll people” this year on and have the most physical offense in the league. That would be a viable identity in itself if they are able to live up to the expectations.
But Jones also made mention of the passing attack, saying they have the ability to go “over your head” as well. In order to avoid opposing defenses loading up the tackle box and making it difficult to run, the Steelers are going to need to have the threat of a deep-passing game. Russell Wilson has excelled at that during his career, but there are questions right now about the receiver room outside of George Pickens. If teams can figure out how to neutralize him with bracket coverage and double teams, could the offense’s identity be at risk of once again being one-dimensional? That will be an ongoing question that the Steelers have to answer.
I am more confident in Smith’s ability to figure that out than I was with Canada. And as Jones said, the talent level is in a good spot right now overall. If they can execute their assignments, it will work itself out.
