Today, I wanted to circle back to the offensive line position, examining zone-blocking data from Sports Info Solutions (SIS). The topic is intriguing, considering new Pittsburgh Steelers OC Arthur Smith has utilized zone-blocking concepts at a high rate in his previous coaching stops.
That means it’s reasonable to expect to see that more in Pittsburgh, so today’s goal is to study the quality and quantity of zone blocking for the Steelers last season by the player, along with some takeaways from Smith’s results with the Falcons last season.
The data points included in this article are points earned and points above average, which use the total of a player’s EPA responsibility while blocking using the Total Points system that distributes credit among all players on the field for a given play. For blockers, this includes accounting for blown blocks, yards before contact on running plays, and performance given the defenders in the box.
For context, I wanted to start with total blocking snaps to get a gauge of how the offensive linemen fared overall in SIS’s eyes (min. 300 blocking snaps):
This gives us a sense of how players were rated across all of their blocking snaps. Atop the total points metrics last season for Pittsburgh was guard Isaac Seumalo, which likely comes as no surprise. He tied for 29th in total points earned and 38th in total points above average out of the 198 qualifying offensive linemen on 978 total snaps (T-63rd).
Close behind was his running mate at guard, James Daniels. Both players still remain with the team and landed encouragingly above the mean. Daniels tied for 40th in total points earned, 64th in total points above average, on 891 total snaps (T-84th).
After a drop-off, we see tackle Chukwuma Okorafor near the mean of his peers and third on the team in total points earned. It’s important to note that he was benched from his starting right tackle job after Week 8, leading to a smaller 408 total snap sample size (182nd). In those opportunities, he tied for 103rd in total points earned and 132nd in total points above average.
The remaining 2023 Steelers were below the mean: former center Mason Cole, tackle Dan Moore Jr. and tackle Broderick Jones as a rookie. Here are their marks in their total opportunities last season:
Moore: total snaps (T-84th), total points earned (T-127th), total points above average (T-148th).
Cole: total snaps (50th), total points earned (T-127th), total points above average (T-148th).
Jones: total snaps (125th), total points earned (T-151st), total points above average (T-156th).
In terms of these metrics, it’s not good enough for that group, to say the least.
With that context out of the way, let’s see what the same data looked like in zone concepts only:
Encouragingly, Seumalo was once again the best Steeler in zone-blocking schemes. He tied for a strong 14th in zone points earned and 18th in points above average out of the 198 qualifiers, which was better than his total opportunities. So, it’s reasonable to expect Seumalo to acclimate to Smith’s offense most seamlessly.
This came on 290 zone snaps, tying for 28th most, so there was a nice quantity for Seumalo as well. To add more context to Smith’s high frequency, here are zone-blocking snap totals for Falcons offensive linemen in 2023:
LG Matthew Bergeron: 407 zone snaps (first).
LT Jake Matthews: 378 zone snaps (second).
RG Chris Lindstrom: 375 zone snaps (third).
C Drew Dalman: 331 zone snaps (12th).
RT Kaleb McGary: 297 zone snaps (19th).
So, all five men were in the top 20 in zone snaps among their peers, which hopefully hammers the importance of the topic and expectation for high usage in 2024 for Pittsburgh. Here are the Steelers’ end-of-season starters zone snap ranks for comparison:
C Mason Cole: 299 zone snaps (18th).
LG Isaac Seumalo: 290 zone snaps (T-28th).
LT Dan Moore Jr: 267 zone snaps (T-47th).
RG James Daniels: 264 zone snaps (T-51st).
RT Broderick Jones: 234 zone snaps (T-85th).
It’s not appreciably lower than Atlanta, but the difference is noticeable overall. It’s important to recall that Jones started only 11 games last season. With a hopefully healthy 2024 in Smith’s scheme, he will be able to utilize his athleticism more often and successfully in Year 2.
More specifically, Jones had the lowest zone-point metrics among Steelers in 2023. He tied for 179th in zone points earned and 181st in zone points above average, not great among the 198 qualifying peers.
Though Moore was below the mean in his total blocking snaps, he was above average on zone opportunities. He tied for 65th in zone points earned and 74th in zone points above average. Not stellar, but notably better than Jones last season.
If Moore can continue to show ability in this regard, it may help keep him on the field longer if rookie tackle Troy Fautanu needs more time before starting, perhaps similar to Jones’ rookie season.
The remaining 2023 Steelers were below the mean, and here are their zone points ranks:
Cole: zone points earned (T-120th), zone points above average (T-131st).
Daniels: zone points earned (T-143rd), zone points above average (T-153rd).
Okorafor: zone points earned (T-171st), zone points above average (T-176th).
Jones: zone points earned (T-179th), zone points above average (T-181st).
The most concerning situation, in my opinion, is Daniels. The starting veteran guard really struggled in zone blocking in 2023. He did it less than the more successful Seumalo last season, which could continue. However, seeing Smith utilize both of his guards last season at a top-three frequency in the league emphasizes Daniels’ need to make huge strides in zone schemes.
Cole and Okorafor are no longer Steelers, so the aforementioned improvements for Jones and Daniels remain the biggest hopeful positive trends for the Black and Gold in 2024.
Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Pittsburgh’s rookie investments in this year’s draft. I will soon do a similar study on 2023 college offensive linemen to see what our newest Steelers might provide when they see the field.
Here’s to hoping their college contributions were encouraging and that there are hopeful positive trends for returning Steelers in 2024.
To close, here is a rankings table of the data used in today’s study:
Thanks for reading and let me know your thoughts in the comments.
