4 breakout candidates for the Pittsburgh Steelers during 2021 season

Steelers LG Kevin Dotson

Despite missing much of the Steelers 2021 training camp while nursing an injury, offensive guard Kevin Dotson clearly was not hampered by this as he entered the preseason. Dotson didn’t just perform well during exhibition action, he graded out as one of the best offensive linemen this summer, according to Pro Football Focus – earning a 92.9 overall grade and allowing 0 pressures on 52 pass-block snaps.

Even during his rookie season in 2020, many thought that Dotson looked like the best offensive lineman out there, I don’t believe that it was just a coincidence that the Steelers had most of their best rushing performances when he was in the lineup.

Now entering year two, Dotson is a prime breakout candidate. While I think he will pretty easily be the best offensive lineman on the team this year, I have even bigger aspirations for him. I know he has a small sample of play so far and we shouldn’t read too much into exhibition action, but Dotson has the power, feet, and tenacity to develop into a Pro Bowl-caliber guard.

This is obviously very high praise for the second-year player, but what we have seen from him in the early going has been nothing short of spectacular. Let’s hope he carries his dominant play into the regular season.