Pittsburgh Steelers: Meet the pick, OL Derwin Gray
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been very lucky to have one of the best offensive lines in all the NFL for the last few seasons. They traded away a long-time starter in the off-season and drafted another lineman in a retooling of sorts for the group.
The Steelers have been blessed with a Hall of Fame coach in Mike Munchak for the last five seasons. Unfortunately, the Denver Broncos lured him away to be closer to his family and thus lost a piece of the puzzle that made their line what it has become in those five seasons.
Munchak has helped develop this line into a dominant group in all facets of the game. He helped turn Kelvin Beachum into a sought-after free agent left tackle, former Army ranger Alejandro Villanueva into a very good left tackle and Chris Hubbard and Matt Feiler proved he coaches depth as well as he does starters when they stepped in when necessary.
Munchak might be the biggest loss of this off-season for the Steelers. The team feels confident, however, that Shaun Sarrett can help fill the void after learning under Munchak in his time in Pittsburgh.
The new head offensive line coach will have a new face to coach up this year and his name is Derwin Gray. Gray is the Steelers final pick of the 2019 draft at 219 overall.
Gray is a big bodied offensive lineman with long arms and broad shoulders. He started 25 games at Maryland at left tackle for the Terapins.
Gray’s production as a pass protector could keep him on the left side even though he has the size for a big mauler at right tackle.
Gray’s biggest weakness is his production and consistency as a run blocker. The best pas blocker is usually your left tackle while right tackles are your maulers/run blockers and Gray fits better now as a left tackle.
Gray could have used a coach like Munchak to hone his craft and improve as a run blocker. This will undoubtedly present coach Sarrett with an opportunity to showcase what he learned from Munchak in his five seasons under him.
Gray could be compared somewhat to Beachum as they were both unheralded late-round picks. Beachum blossomed into a starter and, as I mentioned in the beginning of this article, became a sought after free agent in his career before landing with the Jets after a year in Jacksonville.
Derwin Gray will join the battle for the right tackle spot that is now up for grabs after the trade of Marcus Gilbert. He will join the battle against Matt Feiler, Jerald Hawkins, Chuks Okorafor and Zach Banner.
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The right tackle spot could be one of the biggest camp battles of the season come July. Derwin Gray will find himself right in the thick of it, but can he earn a spot on this team after being picked in the seventh round?