Steelers starters who desperately need to be replaced in 2023
By Tommy Jaggi
The Pittsburgh Steelers will try to return to relevance in 2023, but it may not happen if these underwhelming starters return to their roles.
The 2022 season has confirmed something that many of us already knew: this Pittsburgh Steelers team is desperately lacking talent across the roster. While studs like T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and Cameron Heyward helped keep them afloat over the past several years, it’s clear that the talent deficiency has finally caught up with them.
The good news is that the Steelers do have some quality, young players like George Pickens, Pat Freiermuth, and Alex Highsmith who could be essential building blocks for the next era of football in Pittsburgh. However, there are several starters who simply are not meeting the standard.
With some money to work with in the offseason and additional high draft capital in 2023, here are the Steelers the team desperately needs to replace next year:
Dan Moore isn’t cutting it at left tackle
I wasn’t opposed to the Pittsburgh Steelers selecting Dan Moore in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. In fact, I thought it was a quality move for an athletic, developmental tackle. What I was opposed to, however, was forcing him to be the starting left tackle for this team out of sheer neglect of the position.
I don’t blame Moore here; I blame the front office. In his second NFL season, Moore has played as well as we could expect for a former fourth-round pick to play at one of the most important positions in football.
Pittsburgh could do worse than Moore at left tackle, but why settle for less? The blindside protector is the most important position on the offensive line, and they need to get serious about investing elite draft capital here. I love Moore as a swing tackle, but I think he’s very underwhelming as a starter.