5 Steelers that will be unfairly made scapegoats during 2021

Steelers Kevin Dotson

On the flip side of things, the offensive line as a whole will be under a lot of scrutiny this season. While the group played fine in pass coverage last season, their run blocking was easily the worst in the league. That said, injuries were at play with some of the stalwarts, but that didn’t stop the team from adding four new starters to this group.

Expectations seemed mixed for this group, but the player with the most riding on this season is easily Kevin Dotson. The former fourth-round rookie flashed in limited playing time, and he now appears set to command a starting role for a whole season. With the line so full of question marks though, any sort of shortcomings will likely come back on Dotson. Unless he is clearly the only player playing well, the struggles of the line will get lumped into critiques of his personal play.

The fact is, expect this line to have some severe growing pains, especially early in the season while this group tries and gels. Before this, the Steelers offensive line had had years of experience and the guys knew what to expect from each other. This line will have to learn all of that in just a few short months. Dotson is the perceived leader of this group, and if this line struggles, don’t be surprised to hear his name thrown around as a scapegoat.