When the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Arthur Smith to be their new offensive coordinator during the 2024 offseason, most fans were less than enthused. Throughout his career as a head coach of the Atlanta Falcons and offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans, Smith's run-first, conservative game plan routinely capped his team's offensive ceiling. Thankfully, it finally looks like Smith is open to change.
The Steelers' OC addressed this during mandatory minicamp, where he hinted at the offense passing the ball more for this reason. Smith listed two obvious reasons: Aaron Rodgers and DK Metcalf.
“We didn’t bring Aaron in here and sign DK for all that money to go run the wishbone,” Smith said, via Mike DeFabo of The Athletic.
This comment came in response to a question about marrying a run-heavy offense with a pass-happy quarterback. Obviously, something had to give, and Smith isn't going to dig his feet in and force Rodgers to operate the full extent of his playbook. Rather, the offensive coordinator is embracing the four-time MVP quarterback for what he brings to the table.
Aaron Rodgers could help the Pittsburgh Steelers see their best passing offense in five years
The last time the Pittsburgh Steelers had a quarterback throw north of 22 touchdown passes in a season, it was with Ben Roethlisberger back in 2020. While Big Ben was simply a volume passer at this stage of his career and didn't offer the same play-making ability he once did, it proved to be enough to vault the Steelers to a 12-3 record in the 15 games he played.
The bar since then couldn't be lower, but Rodgers has a chance to take this offense to heights it hasn't seen in half a decade or so. Despite his age (41), Rodgers is showing at the Steelers' mandatory minicamp that he still has a quick release and a live arm. This velocity is an encouraging sign, as it's not something all aging quarterbacks possess late in their careers.
Rodgers' play improved down the stretch last season, and being further removed from the season-ending Achilles injury in 2023, it's possible he could see a resurgence on the Steelers. Arthur Smith is quick to recognize his talent and knows what this could mean for his offense (and, quite frankly, his job security as OC).
Rodgers isn't the only player who's attributing to Smith's sudden change of heart. The addition of two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver DK Metcalf also makes a world of difference, as Rodgers already has a go-to option in the passing game before ever playing a snap this season.
Metcalf is a proven veteran wide receiver who will provide a consistent option for Smith to lean on—something he didn't always have in George Pickens (who, too often, quit on the team or failed to show up in big games).
These two big reasons Smith mentioned are as good as any to scrap the conservative game plan and get a bit more pass-happy. The Pittsburgh Steelers had a below-average offense in 2024, and Arthur Smith knows he needs to rely on help from his most important offensive players if that is to improve in 2025.