Over the past few seasons the Pittsburgh Steelers have really committed to rebuilding and beefing up their offensive line. Since general manager Omar Khan took charge of the Steelers’ draft in 2023, Pittsburgh has selected five offensive linemen. One thing in common about the Steelers’ five young offensive linemen is that they are tenacious run blockers.
On SiriusXM Radio’s Movin’ The Chains with Pat Kirwan and Jim Miller, Kirwan mentioned to Khan that he was hearing murmurs about how all the young offensive linemen love to run block.
“It’s one of the quarterback’s best friends having a great running game, right?” Khan said Friday night. “It alleviates a lot of pressure, but it starts with those guys up front and that’s part of it. You guys know Arthur’s [Smith] history and what he liked to do in Tennessee and that’s just part of it.”
Even under former offensive coordinator Matt Canada the goal of the Steelers was to play smashmouth football. Yet, be it predictable play calling or an ineffective offensive line struggling to make holes, the Steelers’ run game struggled to be consistently good.
Under Khan it has been clear that Pittsburgh wants to be a run-first team, and it makes sense why it brought in offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Last season, the Steelers ran the football 46.7 percent of the time, fifth most in the NFL. Smith’s Atalanta Falcons ran the ball 47.8 percent of the time in 2023 and going back to Smith’s last season as offensive coordinator for Tennessee, the Titans, led by RB Derrick Henry, ran the ball 50.3 percent of the time.
It’s clear the Steelers want to run the football, and the hope is that three of their young offensive linemen in OT Broderick Jones, OT Troy Fautanu, and C Zach Frazier all win starting roles this season and bring the “nasty” to the running game. If Pittsburgh can dominate the point of attack and force teams to respect and fear the rushing attack keyed by running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, it will be easier for either QB Russell Wilson or QB Justin Fields to take the top off the defense in the passing game.
As Khan said, a good running game is a quarterback’s best friend. The Steelers will hope their young offensive line will allow them to lean on their running game, which will help either Wilson or Fields bounce back. Although the NFL is now a passing league, leaning on the run is still a successful formula. Last season, the San Francisco 49ers helped out QB Brock Purdy by having a wildly successful ground game, running the football at a 47.9 percent clip.
Khan has invested heavily in the offensive line the past two seasons. Now, it is time for the investment to pay dividends for the offense.
