4 things Steelers must do to improve the offensive line in 2021

Upgrade the center position

Please ignore the last two Pro Bowl selections for Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey, as they were rather unmerited, I must say. Anybody who has cared to go back and put on the film can clearly see that this man is not the player he once was. Despite his multiple-time All-Pro reputation, Pouncey has actually been one of the most disappointing players on the team since the 2019 season.

According to Pro Football Focus, Pouncey ranked 27th among all qualifying NFL centers in 2020 with an overall grade of 60.4. Considering there are only 32 teams in the league, you would expect a better performance from a guy who is set to make $14.4 million in 2021. Last year, Pouncey’s 51.5 grade was among the worst in the league of any starting offensive linemen.

Though he will go down as one of the better offensive linemen the Steelers had in the modern era, Pouncey needs to be replaced very soon. Assuming that replacement isn’t JC Hassenauer, we might even be able to see an improvement from the center position right away. Sometimes it’s hard to separate the player someone has been from the player they are right now, but trust me when I say that this is a position the Steelers must upgrade in order to help improve Pittsburgh run game.