Pittsburgh Steelers 53-man roster prediction: Who makes the final cut?
By Tommy Jaggi
Offensive line (8): Chukwuma Okorafor, Kevin Dotson, Kendrick Green, Trai Turner, Zach Banner, Dan Moore Jr., Joe Haeg, B.J. Finney
The offensive line is always a group that is somewhat challenging to gauge. While we know who the starters are going to be entering the season (the first five names on this list), the backups are a bit mirky at the tail end.
In addition to Pittsburgh’s starting five offensive linemen, I also believe that rookie Dan Moore Jr. and Joe Haeg are locks to make the team, and they each showed some solid play this summer. After them, however, it becomes hard to predict.
The Steelers initially had J.C. Hassenauer listed as their starting center entering training camp, but we knew this wasn’t going to last. Now, I think he could find himself off the roster entirely if they just keep one backup interior player, as B.J. Finney has more experience and size than Hassenauer and can play both guard and center.
Rashaad Coward is the only other player who should be considered to make the team among this group, but I don’t think he showed enough to warrant a roster spot, and I’m predicting Pittsburgh will want to use this spot elsewhere. For my final prediction, I’m going with just eight offensive linemen this year.