The 2023 Steelers offense wasn’t exactly prolific. They ranked 28th in the league in points per game, and only two of their ten wins came when their opponent scored 20 points or more.
The mantra of the best offense being a good defense rang true for the Steelers last year. They seemingly got just as many big plays from their defense as they did from the offense, a recipe that rarely is sustainable for a full season, but somehow was for the black and gold.
But when the offense was at its best, it usually meant one of two things was happening. Either George Pickens was making a big play, or they were getting the running game going. We know Pickens is going to have a big 2024, but the running game remains a big x-factor when looking at this roster.
Steelers insider Mark Kaboly was on The PM Team on 93.7 The Fan yesterday and talked about his reservations regarding the run game.
“What you have to be a little bit concerned about is the offensive line early.” Kaboly said. “Because look at the last two years. It took them a little bit of time to work up to being a good to semi-dominant offensive line the past two years. Now you’re potentially adding two new guys and three new position changes. So it’s going to take time regardless of the people they throw out there. I would be more worried about that, and the running game maybe sputtering early because of the offensive line.”
The team has made big investments in the offensive line, especially in the last few drafts. But even if you believe in each of the individual pieces, there are quite a few moving parts.
Troy Fautanu and Zach Frazier were seen as two of the more ready-to-play rookies in this year’s draft, but even so, we aren’t sure how their games will translate to the NFL level. I wouldn’t call either a necessary “weakness”, but barring something incredible, we will at least see some growing pains early as Kaboly said. We saw it with James Daniels and Isaac Seumalo as veterans, and the young guys getting adjusted to the line is why Pittsburgh’s OL was ranked 20th by Warren Sharp.
And Broderick Jones looks to head back to left tackle this season, something which will be an adjustment for him. He’s got the talent to do it, but when sharing an offensive line with other new pieces, it won’t be a seamless transition.
There’s talent in the backfield for sure, with Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris both seemingly still in their primes. But it’s not talent to the level when they could overcome a poor offensive line. That’s going to be a quiet x-factor of this offense. The passing game seems to be an obvious question mark, but I think there is more potential variance in the level of offensive line play we see.
