The Steelers offensive line looks completely different this year. Will this new group prove to help or hurt running back Najee Harris in his rookie season?
Because of the salary cap situation due to the pandemic, we knew that the Steelers were going to have a lot of players test the free-agent market this offseason and that many would not return. However, I’m not sure if anyone would have predicted that Pittsburgh would have four new starting offensive linemen in 2021. However, that appears to be the case for the team this year.
Though I thought there was a good chance that Maurkice Pouncey was going to hang up his cleats for good after flirting with the idea for so long, I didn’t think the Steelers would let both Matt Feiler and Alejandro Villanueva walk this offseason.
Additionally, David DeCastro – who once seemed like a guaranteed roster lock – was cut after it was discovered that he needed another ankle surgery. In his place, the Steelers recently signed former Pro Bowl guard Trai Turner.
This means that the lone returning starter from last season will presumably be Chukwuma Okorafor – Pittsburgh’s worst-graded offensive lineman last year, according to Pro Football Focus. Now it appears Okorafor will be tasked with switching to left tackle in 2021.
After losing four veteran starters and being forced to rely on several players with virtually no NFL experience, how is this going to affect first-round running back Najee Harris in his rookie season?
Could new-look OL actually help Steelers rookie Najee Harris?
Contrary to what you might think, there’s actually plenty of reason to believe that these changes to the offensive line could benefit Najee Harris in his first NFL season. Under most circumstances, losing three former Pro Bowl players would not be a good thing. However, the offensive line struggled so much in 2021 that perhaps this is for the best.
The Steelers were dead last in the league in rushing last season. While the combination of James Conner and Benny Snell was thoroughly underwhelming, their offensive line wasn’t doing them any favors last season, as holes on the ground could barely be seen. Additionally, offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner was very predictable in his play-calling and rarely disguised the run – something Matt Canada will no doubt do better.
I worry about the Steelers offensive tackles – particularly in their ability to consistently hold up in pass protection. However, in terms of run blocking, this may actually be an improvement. Zach Banner is a good fit at right tackle and possesses more play strength than Okorafor at that position. Though losing Villanueva could hurt a bit in pass protection, AV wasn’t very good in terms of run blocking last season.
The interior offensive line could potentially see the biggest improvement. Despite the reputations of Maurkice Pouncey and David DeCastro, neither played anywhere near their Pro Bowl statuses last season, and they lacked both movement skills and driving power on the ground.
I recently wrote about how I thought Kendrick Green could prove to be an improvement from an old Pouncey we saw over the past two seasons, while Kevin Dotson could easily be a step up from Matt Feiler. Trai Turner didn’t play well in nine games last season, but he was battling both injuries and Covid. He is still young enough to return to Pro Bowl form in 2021.
We will never be able to see how Najee Harris would have performed with Pittsburgh’s previous offensive line unit, but it stands to reason that this group could be (and should be) better on the ground than it was a year ago. Hopefully, they will prove to help Najee in his rookie season.