Steelers incredibly fortunate to have good left tackles for Ben Roethlisberger

The Steelers have kept Ben Roethlisberger’s blindside well protected. Here’s why we can’t automatically assume that will continue with Chukwuma Okorafor. 

The Pittsburgh Steelers have never really been a team known for their dominant offensive tackles. They have had far better success with their interior offensive line, and many would argue that as many as 6 or 7 of the best offensive linemen in their storied history were guards and centers – not offensive tackles.

Though they haven’t had a perennial All-Pro at the position in my lifetime, Pittsburgh’s always had good left tackle manning one of the NFL’s most important positions since 2000. As a result, Ben Roethlisberger has been more fortunate than you might think.

Almost every NFL team has gone through growing pains with poor left tackles somewhere over the past two decades, the Steelers have been fortunate to go right from one solid player to the next. In fact, it has been a collection of four Pro-Bowl-level players (or nearly that) who have protected Ben’s blindside since he entered the league in 2004:

Marvel Smith was a quality left tackle for Ben Roethlisberger who was followed up by a mammoth OT in Max Starks. Both players began their careers as right tackles but successfully transitioned to left tackle just when the Steelers needed them most. Kelvin Beachum was a quality stop-gap left tackle who graded out as one of the best pass blockers in the league while on the Steelers, according to Pro Football Focus, while Alejandro Villanueva was a two-time Pro Bowler at the position for Pittsburgh.

Can Chukwuma Okorafor follow suit for the Steelers at LT?

Even the most optimistic fans should have reason to worry here. While we have seen good Steelers offensive tackles transition from the right side to the left in the past, it was under very different circumstances.

Both Marvel Smith and Max Starts had at least 30 starts under their belt before switching to left tackles. By this time, they were already established NFL players. Chukwuma Okorafor isn’t exactly coming off a great season in 2020.

Last year, the Steelers right tackle graded out as one of the worst offensive tackles in the league and earned poor marks in both pass protection and run blocking, according to Pro Football Focus. Okorafor was drafted in the 3rd round in 2018 to be a developmental tackle, but he hasn’t progressed as fast as Pittsburgh have hoped.

There’s an off chance that the transition to the left side may help him, and maybe new offensive line coach Adrian Klemm will know what to do with him. However, there might be a better chance that Chuks becomes a glaring weak spot on the Steelers offense in 2021.