Steelers Draft Strategy: Why using top-50 pick on offensive line would be mistake
Background
From 2018 through 2021, the Pittsburgh Steelers were one of the worst rushing offenses in the NFL. Despite being known for having one of the better offensive lines in the league, the team leaned away from the run hard during the twilight of Ben Roethlisberger’s career.
Steelers Rushing Statistics 2018-2021 (from TruMedia Networks)
Measure | Statistic | Rank |
|---|---|---|
Total Rushing Yards | 5826 | 32nd |
Rushing Attempts | 1524 | 31st |
Yards per Carry | 3.8 | 32nd |
Rushing Touchdowns | 45 | t-27th |
Yards before Contact per Rush | 1.14 | 32nd |
Rushing Success Rate | 41.3% | 30th |
EPA per Play on Designed Runs | -0.11 | 26th |
Total Rushing EPA per Game | -3.61 | 25th |
Explosive Rush % (12+ yards) | 7.5% | 25th |
After drafting Najee Harris in 2021, the team seemed to recommit itself to running the ball. They also drafted two offensive linemen, Kendrick Green and Dan Moore, to replace franchise stalwarts Maurkice Pouncey and Alejandro Villanueva. But given that they were installing a new offense with Matt Canada at the helm, starting two rookies, and still running out an aged Roethlisberger, there was a lot of cognitive dissonance on the offense.
In 2022, those plans finally began to bear some fruit. To take some weight off the shoulders of the quarterback(s), the team signed two veteran offensive linemen that fit Matt Canada’s zone-heavy run scheme in James Daniels and Mason Cole. There were some growing pains, as the offense sputtered with Mitch Trubisky under center, and the defense struggled without T.J. Watt.
Steelers Rushing Statistics 2022 (from TruMedia Networks)
Measure | Statistic | Rank |
|---|---|---|
Total Rushing Yards | 2073 | 16th |
Rushing Attempts | 500 | 10th |
Yards per Carry | 4.1 | 25th |
Rushing Touchdowns | 16 | t-11th |
Yards before Contact per Rush | 1.56 | 17th |
Rushing Success Rate | 50.2% | 7th |
EPA per Play on Designed Runs | 0.01 | 11th |
Total Rushing EPA per Game | -0.43 | 5th |
Explosive Rush % (12+ yards) | 7.4% | 23rd |
But as the season went on, especially after the bye week, the offensive line began to gel. In the first eight weeks of the season, Pittsburgh averaged 94.88 rushing yards per game (25th), 1.38 yards before contact per rush (21st), -0.02 EPA per designed rush (20th), and owned a rushing success rate of 43.7% (24th).
After the bye week, they averaged 146 rushing yards per game (9th), 1.67 yards before contact per rush (14th), and 0.02 EPA per designed rush (7th). Their rushing success rate jumped all the way up to 54.2%, ranked second behind only the Philadelphia Eagles. Compare the table above with the stats from 2018 through 2021 to the stats from the 2022 season alone.