In recent years the Pittsburgh Steelers have invested a ton of draft capital in their offensive line. They’ve spent first-round picks on the tackle position in three of the last four drafts, while also spending Day 2 and early Day 3 selections on the interior offensive line.

That’s led to the Steelers landing the likes of left tackle Troy Fautanu, left guard Mason McCormick, and center Zach Frazier, giving Pittsburgh a strong nucleus to build around up front. 

They also have 2026 first-rounder Max Iheanachor developing as a depth piece at the moment along with 2026 third-rounder Gennings Dunker at guard.

On paper, things look pretty darn good for the Steelers, both in 2026 and beyond.

Yet, for CBS Sports’ Mike Renner, who co-hosted the latest episode of the Pushing The Pile podcast with JP Acosta, the Steelers are in the bottom half of the league’s offensive lines, landing in the unproven tier due to so many “moving parts.”

“You have Troy Fautanu, who is flipping from right tackle to left tackle ’cause Broderick Jones had a spinal fusion [surgery]. You have rookie contract guys at left guard and center,” Renner said, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “Even if Zach Frazier’s one of the best centers in the NFL already, there’s a lot of moving parts here, and they could even go down a tier this year into the could get ugly [tier]. Especially since the first rounders you’ve used on this offensive line, like Broderick Jones, like I said unlikely to play this year with that spinal fusion.

“Then Max Iheanachor, everyone knew that he was a project coming in and probably not a guy you wanna start right away. A lot of moving parts for that Steelers offensive line.”

Broderick Jones’ injury and the uncertainty surrounding his health in 2026 is a real concern. Who knows if he’s even be able to play this season after having spinal-fusion surgery.

That injury necessitated Fautanu’s move to left tackle, his natural position from his college days. That also led to McCormick following him to the left side, replacing veteran Isaac Seumalo, who departed in free agency. Frazier remains a stalwart at center, and is one of the best NFL players at his position.

The right side of the offensive line? That’s the real concern. Spencer Anderson and free agent signee Brock Hoffman will battle for the starting job at right guard, while Dylan Cook appears set to handle the starting job at right tackle until Iheanachor is ready to go.

But all those moving parts and the uncertainty has Renner worried about the group, and believes it could even fall down a tier this season.

Acosta doesn’t view it that way and is much higher on the group overall.

“I would argue that the Steelers are not only in the better than we think tier, but also up and coming. I think that that group is really good, especially when it comes to that group of Troy Fautanu, who had a really good year last year, of course moving from right to left. I think he’s going to be rock solid at left tackle,” Acosta said of the Steelers’ offensive line. “Zach Frazier’s one of the best centers in the league already. I feel like he is a just mute button for them at center. Mason McCormick has shown that he can be a quality starter at right guard…I do think that when they want to get down and grimy and run the football, they’ve shown that they can do that.

“And I think that that group is still very young. I think you add Max Iheanachor into that group and I just think that you’re going to get at least a pretty good unit. I understand them being unproven, but I do think this group can grow into not only being better than you think, but also just an up-and-coming group because of how young they are.”

The Steelers do have a good, young offensive line. The investments are starting to pay off, and that should only continue this season, especially under new offensive line coaches James Campen and Jahri Evans.

The left side, even with some uncertainty following Fautanu and McCormick moving there, should be much better than last season. The right side needs some work, but the upside is high there.

Things should improve with a better offensive scheme, too, under head coach Mike McCarthy.

The arrow is clearly pointing up for this offensive line, rather than the inverse as Renner believes.