The Pittsburgh Steelers have made significant investments in their offensive line over the past two NFL drafts. They’ve made the unit a priority and gotten some young talent in the room such as Troy Fautanu and Zach Frazier.
What’s unique about their situation is that these rookies are going to have to play right away. No waiting around to develop, no year sitting behind a veteran. They need to produce.
And produce right away. It’s not like they are starting for some team that is a few years away from competing or anything like that. The Steelers are ready to be a playoff contender right now, and they are going to need to give Russell Wilson protection.
It falls on the shoulders of the veterans to get these guys ready to go. Defensive end Cam Heyward is making it a priority during training camp, and he shared his thoughts on this on Inside Training Camp Live with Marc Ross and Rhett Lewis.
“They are young guys,” Heyward said. “As a d-lineman it’s baptism by fire. It’s not just my job, but it’s T.J. Watt’s, it’s Larry Ogunjobi, it’s Alex Highsmith, breaking these guys down so they’re ready for the regular season. These guys are prepared, they played at a high level, Troy just playing in the national championship, but that NFL speed and that NFL know-how is so much different [than] the college level. So it’s gonna be [tough] to adjust, but I think they’re ready for it.”
They certainly have their hands full with Heyward at training camp, but it’ll be good preparation for seeing guys like reigning DPOY Myles Garrett twice during the regular season.
Look, we all know the Steelers don’t have the best collection of offensive weapons in the world. They are going to need the offensive line to step up if they are going to be any good at moving the ball. It’s on the team to get the line as ready as possible.
What at least offers some solace, is that the Steelers’ schedule is backloaded with tough games, especially the divisional ones. Their last eight games feature their six AFC North bouts and battles against the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. Hopefully, the line will be developed enough by then to have a fighting chance in games that look to be crucial for the team’s playoff hopes.
