The Pittsburgh Steelers are entering what may prove to be one of the most critical offseasons in recent history. Here’s what they cannot afford to do.
Now that the regular season is in the Steelers rearview and the offseason is on the horizon, I think it’s an opportune moment to discuss the critical nature of the offseason and discuss the mistakes we simply cannot afford to make.
I use the term critical for various reasons, but suffice it to say that with several rookies entering year two, with several players entering free agency, and with Matt Canada somehow entering year three as the offensive coordinator, we really cannot mess up the offseason. Let’s talk about the first mistake the Steelers cannot make.
3. Steelers must avoid drafting for need in the 2023 draft
There is a fine line between need and want. We enter the 2023 offseason with both needs and wants. According to Spotrac, we will have twenty-two players who will either be unrestricted or restricted free agents. That’s more than a few and probably more that we would realistically want to or be able to re-sign.
Depending on who we choose to or are able to re-sign, we will invariably be in a position where we have to fill the void, so to speak, through the draft. Frankly, for decades it was the other way around where we drafted well and filled the void in free agency.
The one thing we cannot afford to do is draft solely for need. Generally speaking, drafting for need versus drafting the best player available when your turn comes around spells disaster. I think it’s fair to say that with the draft capital we currently have entering the 2023 draft, we are in a prime position to bolster the roster at positions of need by drafting the best player available.
Here’s what I mean by that: We need a lockdown CB, an ILB, both an O-lineman, or linemen, a D-lineman, or linemen, potentially a safety, etc. The point is we need a lot, but we cannot afford to reach for any of the aforementioned positions. If we play our cards right, we can draft quality players without doing anything ‘crazy’, e.g., mortgaging the future to move up in the draft to select a player who may not see a second contract.
Let’s talk about the second mistake we cannot afford to make.
2. Steelers need to balance need and want in the 2023 free agent market
As I stated earlier in the discussion, we have both needs and wants. You could argue that we have more needs than wants or vice versa, but I think both arguments are meritorious. With twenty-two players slated to become free agents in one form or another, we have to be smart about what we do and how we do it.
Considering what we do in free agency may directly impact how we approach the draft, we cannot afford to overpay for any player. Conversely, we cannot afford to let a player walk, either our own pending free agent or another team’s free agent, because we are not willing to ‘pony up’ the cash.
Take Larry Ogunjobi, for instance. We signed him to a one-year deal. He played very well. Now, the Steelers may not be able to re-sign him depending on how the market values his position. If we re-sign him, maybe we would wait until the later rounds to address DL.
If we can’t re-sign him, that may force us to draft a D-lineman higher than we would have otherwise drafted a D-lineman. It all works hand-in-hand, but we should not and cannot let a player walk who played well for us simply because the market may value his position at ‘X’, but we would only be willing to pay ‘Y’.
Let’s talk about the third mistake we cannot afford to make.
1. Steelers have to rethink the offensive scheme in order to generate more points
It’s all over but the shouting when it comes to the decision to retain Matt Canada as the offensive coordinator. We have talked ad nauseum about how awful the offense was last year and the year prior to that. Since Mike Tomlin does not ask me for my opinion when it comes to who to keep on his staff, we will be entering year three with the Canada offense.
The Steelers cannot afford to enter the 2023 regular season replicating what we saw in 2021 and in 2022. Whatever went into deciding to bring him back is between Tomlin and Canada. With that said, we simply need to score more points than we did in 2022. According to ESPN, we finished ranked twenty-third in total offense and twenty-sixth in points per game.
If that means that we have to tweak the scheme, so be it. If that means that we have to add a passing game coordinator to the staff, so be it. If that means we have to bring in a former offensive coordinator as a consultant, so be it.
The point is this: The Steelers, specifically Tomlin, must realize that if Canada is allowed to deploy the same route concepts and is allowed to call the same plays in the red zone, the scoring will not improve. If the scoring does not improve, our record may not improve. If our record does not improve, the Steelers may not see the playoffs for a long time to come.
You simply cannot win consistently if you continually score fewer points than your opponents. Scoring more points may actually lead to winning more games, which may lead to getting into the playoffs, which may lead to competing for another Lombardi Trophy. Isn’t that what this whole thing is about?