Steelers David DeCastro, Kevin Dotson listed among top guards entering 2021

The Steelers offensive line didn’t play well in 2020, but here’s why PFF has David DeCastro and Kevin Dotson listed among their top guards in 2021. 

Steelers fans would like to forget about the monumental collapse of Pittsburgh’s offense late in the 2020 season. After a franchise-best 11-0 start to the season, the team caved over the final six games and into the playoffs, as Ben Roethlisberger struggled and the running game was non-existent.

Much of the blame falls on the shoulders of Pittsburgh’s offensive line. The seasoned group of veterans struggled to get any push on the ground last year, and their inability to hold up for long periods of time during pass sets forced Roethlisberger to get the ball out of his hands quickly.

Enter 2021, and the offensive line looks much different than it did just a season ago. Long-time center Maurkice Pouncey retired after his second poor season in a row in 2020, while Alejandro Villanueva and Matt Feiler both departed in free agency this offseason.

On paper, it seems that this line may be an even worse unit than the one we saw in 2020, but I wouldn’t be so quick to come to that conclusion. Though there will be players with significantly less starting experience filling in, a change could be exactly what the Steelers need.

Apparently, I’m not the only one who thinks so. Recently, Pro Football Focus’s Sam Monson wrote an article detailing his top 32 offensive guards heading into the 2021 season. Both David DeCastro and Kevin Dotson made the list for the Steelers. Here’s his write-up on both players:

"15. DAVID DECASTRO, PITTSBURGH STEELERSDeCastro is still a very good player, but at his best, he was arguably the best right guard in football, and that is no longer the case without a reversal in the direction his play has been trending. DeCastro now has seven straight seasons with a PFF pass-blocking grade of at least 80.0, and he has surrendered just two sacks in four years, including the playoffs.29. KEVIN DOTSON, PITTSBURGH STEELERSThe biggest projection on the list outside of rookies, Dotson has just 358 snaps of NFL action under his belt. In those snaps, he earned a pass-blocking grade above 87.2, allowing just one hurry."

Monson has DeCastro rated as his 15th-best guard entering the new season, while Dotson – the Steelers fourth-round rookie from last year – is rated 29th. This is pretty impressive, considering the circumstances.

While Pittsburgh’s line clearly struggled last year, it was mostly when Kevin Dotson was not on the field. What’s remarkable is that the Steelers actually averaged over 136 rushing yards per game through the first five games of the season – three of which, Dotson filled was filling in for injured players.

However, it was the rookie’s ability in pass protection that earned him such high praise from PFF last year. According to Pro Football Focus, Dotson was the highest-graded rookie pass-blocker with a grade of 87.2. With Feiler now in Los Angeles, Dotson will look to build on his impressive rookie performance in a full-time role as the starting left guard.

As for DeCastro, the former two-time All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowler just didn’t seem the same last year. This could have been largely due to his lingering knee issue, as he admitted to not being 100 percent last season. Though he is now 31 years old, we have seen dominant performances from offensive linemen well into their 30s, and a well-established player like DeCastro could easily bounce back in 2021.

New OL coach Adrian Klemm has his work cut out for him along the offensive line this year, as there could be as many as three new starters this season. Let’s hope Pittsburgh’s guards are going to be as good as Sam Monson believes they will be in 2021. That will be the first step in turning this ship around.