It’s unfortunate how battered the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive line is. It’s only Week 7, and yet, they’ve trotted out the same offensive line for only two straight games. Injuries have decimated that unit, but the next man has to step up. Last week, the Steelers lost standout rookie center Zach Frazier, and Ryan McCollum had to come in against the Las Vegas Raiders. A few plays later, McCollum helped spring Najee Harris for a 36-yard touchdown run, making sure to finish his blocks. It seemed like old times to Dan Moore Jr., who played with McCollum at Texas A&M.
“He was finishing the guy down field,” Moore said Wednesday via Steelers Live on Twitter. “That’s [McCollum] though. He’s a gritty guy. Everything this offensive scheme stands for, everything that [Arthur Smith] preaches, I feel like he falls right into that.”
Smith’s philosophy is about being physical and grinding away at opposing teams, so it sounds like McCollum is a perfect fit. He’s been in the league since 2021, joining the Steelers in 2022. He hasn’t had a lot of actual NFL action, but against the Raiders in Week 6, he looked solid.
Granted, the Raiders don’t have the most impressive defensive front in the league, but it says something that the first play without Frazier went for a long rushing touchdown. McCollum will face a much greater test this week in the form of the New York Jets. Their defense is fierce. Quinnen Williams is one of the best interior defensive linemen in the league, and defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw also has a good pedigree.
It doesn’t sound like Frazier should miss much time, so McCollum doesn’t need to be a superstar. If he can just be serviceable over the next few weeks, then that should be good enough. With the Steelers’ offensive line already in disrepair, though, things could be ugly.
McCollum might also have a tougher job this week if Russell Wilson is the starting quarterback. Wilson offers far less mobility than Justin Fields, so the offensive line might need to be extra sharp. Hopefully the Steelers can at least run the ball successfully, and McCollum seems prepared for that aspect of the game at least.
