Do the Steelers need personnel adjustments on offense?
This is a topic that I’ve heard quite a bit recently, especially after the Steelers lost to the Browns. While Arthur Smith had the benefit of the doubt for a while, a downturn of offensive production is changing that. Are his personnel packages becoming a problem, one that they need to change?
The Steelers knew long before they hired him that Arthur Smith likes big personnel. But does MyCole Pruitt need to play near career-high snap percentages? Do we need to see Conner Heyward for 15-plus snaps a game while not contributing to the passing game?
The Steelers have a really strong tight end duo in Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington, so that leaves them plenty of opportunity to run out of 12 personnel. But Heyward is not a plus blocker, or at least rarely is. And 30-plus snaps for MyCole Pruitt, to average 3.9 yards per carry? I’m not seeing it.
If they want to run heavier sets, there’s no reason the Steelers can’t do more of the tackle-eligible tight end. They used to run that a lot, but Spencer Anderson is only getting a few snaps here and there. It’s not like defenses are respecting Pruitt and Heyward in the passing game, so just use another lineman.
And while the Steelers are using Mike Williams more, they’re still not throwing to him. Van Jefferson makes a key catch here and there, granted, but barring an injury last time out, he’s still seeing 50 snaps a game.
Whatever they have been doing lately, the Steelers clearly could be doing better. Sure, they’ve only lost one game after rattling off a five-game winning streak, and I get that. But are the Steelers limiting themselves on offense just by virtue of the personnel Arthur Smith insists on using? Is he becoming beholden more to packages than he is to the personnel the talent dictates?
The Steelers’ 2024 season is underway, following another disappointing year ending in a first-round playoff loss. They have had a long offseason since the Buffalo Bills stamped them out of their misery back in January. There are positive signs, but things could jump off the rails any moment.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Is Russell Wilson earning a lucrative new deal next year, and is Justin Fields still in consideration? How will the team continue to address the depth chart, which is surprisingly still in flux?
The regular season is here, following weeks of camp and preseason games. The Steelers made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Some they managed to fill, others not so much. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
