Pat Meyer, the offensive line coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers: “We’ve basically changed the look of the room.
We have altered the room’s appearance for the past two years. There are new guys, fresh starts.
The team selected eight offensive lineman during the course of four draft classes that coincided with the start of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ most recent Super Bowl victory.
Invested in the offensive line were five of their eight most premium draft selections from 2009 to 2012, which for the purposes of this exercise were the top two picks they made in any given draft. Prominent guards and tackles who were undrafted free agents were also sought.
The fruits of such labors were a unified, extremely successful, and close-knit group of linemen that served as the backbone of several elite offenses for a number of Steelers playoff teams in the middle to late 2010s.
The acts of the Steelers indicate that they have started a similar O-line overhaul approximately fifteen years later.
Over the last two years, they have selected offensive lineman with five of their fourteen draft selections, including two first-round selections and a second-round pick.
It remains to be seen if Broderick Jones, Troy Fautanu, Zach Frazier, and Mason McCormick become the next group that succeeds Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro, Marcus Gilbert, and Ramon Foster, who were a mainstay of the Steelers for nearly ten years. But it’s obvious that the goal is the same.
Regarding his positional grouping, offensive line coach Pat Meyer remarked, “We’ve basically changed the look of the room.” “We’ve altered the room’s appearance for the past two years. There are new guys, fresh starts.
Between roughly 2014 and 2019, the Steelers consistently possessed one of the top offensive lines in the NFL. But one by one, the men who made up that stony but resolute squad moved on.
2018 saw Gilbert, the longtime right tackle for the Steelers, participate in his final NFL game. After the following season, Foster, who had one of the oldest contracts in franchise history, decided to retire.
A year later, in January 2021, Pouncey, a center who is sure to be considered for the Hall of Fame, too announced his retirement. In March of the same year, Alejandro Villanueva, a five-year starter at left tackle, left via free agency; he retired the next offseason.
The offensive line of the Steelers since? Yes, it has been changing. Three years and two fruitless attempts to locate a long-term institution. There have been far too many right tackles since Gilbert’s departure to list. Over $50 million has been spent to halt the bleeding at the guard locations, and for the most part, it has been successful. And a lot of anger from fans at left tackle, where the Steelers appear forced to keep picking possible replacements due to the performance of the current starter over the last three years.
The draft class this past weekend and Jones’ selection at No. 14 overall in April of last year have the potential to eliminate all of that anxiety in a single 13-month period.
The starting line-up always comes from the front, according to new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith of the Steelers. “There are undoubtedly a lot of crucial components, but having the right players (on the O-line) definitely helps when you want to play a certain brand of football, like the Steelers.”
“I’m really excited to get the chance to work with all these linemen.”
Jones and Fautanu, Thursday’s No. 20 overall selection, are slated to work as a bookend tackle combination forThe group anticipates ten years. Although Frazier, the second-round selection on Friday, may not become an All-Pro every year like Pouncey, the Steelers would welcome his reliable play at center for many years. A fourth-round selection from South Dakota State, McCormick has the potential to be the next Foster, who was overachieving for 11 NFL seasons while going undrafted.
All four project as NFL linemen of at least starting caliber, and they are all under team control through (at least) 2027.
It’s safe to assume that Steelers management would be happy if their latest endeavor, dubbed “Extreme Makeover, Offensive Line Edition,” proved to be as successful as their previous one, which they accomplished roughly 15 years ago.
Frazier exclaimed, “I’m excited.” “I believe that the pieces are in place to have a solid core group of guys for a very long time. Building chemistry with the players next to you is crucial, in my opinion, especially on the offensive line. That was kind of my experience at West Virginia. For over three years, we were surrounded by the same guys. We were pretty close by my senior year and knew each other’s thoughts rather well. That one really excites me.
