4 critical takeaways from Steelers first week of training camp

Steelers tackles are struggling against the edge rushers

This is a combination of a few different things. While the Steelers line seems to be jelling as a whole right now with some familiar faces, the tackles have been struggling against the edge rushers. To be fair, Pittsburgh has a deep group of talented edge rushers, but it is concerning to see the tackles struggle as they have.

It all started early with Le’Raven Clark getting beaten by rookie Nick Herbig. While it isn’t shocking to see Clark get consistently beaten, it was a pleasant surprise to see Herbig pop. I’m still not convinced he can stay as an edge rusher given his size, but he is off to a good start right now.

It hasn’t stopped there, as Dan Moore and Chukwuma Okorafor have also regularly struggled. Highlighted by Alex Highsmith, who is off to yet another strong camp, both tackles have been beaten consistently, and neither have looked like great starters.

Broderick Jones has arguably been the best of the group, but that isn’t saying much. He has flashed some power in run blocking but has also had some inconsistencies in the passing game. Thankfully, there is a lot of time left for this group to get its act together.

Again, to be fair, this is just as much of a compliment to the edge rushers as it is a concern with the tackles. This group is deep and talented, and even Herbig has flashed a quick first step in camp. They haven’t made things easy, but this tackle play needs to get better and soon for this offense.