{"id":133491,"date":"2025-06-16T04:06:13","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T04:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/133491\/"},"modified":"2025-06-16T04:06:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T04:06:13","slug":"robert-mays-steelers-offensive-line-more-of-a-theory-but-could-become-top-10-unit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/133491\/","title":{"rendered":"Robert Mays: Steelers’ Offensive Line ‘More Of A Theory’, But Could Become ‘Top-10 Unit’"},"content":{"rendered":"

This offseason saw a lot of change for the Pittsburgh Steelers, especially on the offensive side of the ball. As such, there are a few spots of strength and weakness on that unit, and one major variable is the offensive line. That group remained intact this offseason, and despite some strong performances last year, it\u2019s still unproven heading into 2025. On Friday, The Athletic\u2019s Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen<\/a> ranked the supporting casts in the AFC, and Mays put the Steelers 11th. Most of his reasoning revolved around the youth on the Steelers\u2019 offensive line.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the Steelers\u2019 offensive line is more of a theory\u2026 We haven\u2019t really seen [Troy] Fautanu play, and Broderick Jones is moving back to the left side\u2026 I still think you have a little bit of projection with [Mason] McCormick, there\u2019s still youth there.. I think that the offensive line being a top-seven unit for the Steelers, or like a top-10 unit, which I think is on the table, pushed them a little bit higher here, I just don\u2019t think you can do that with a lot of confidence,\u201d Mays said.<\/p>\n

With a 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers in the backfield this year, the performance of the offensive line is crucial to any success the Steelers want to have. Looking at the unit, there are reasons to be excited.<\/p>\n

The interior is the strongest and most consistent aspect of the entire Steelers\u2019 offensive line. Stepping into the starting role on short notice last year, Zach Frazier wasted no time making a name for himself. His performance throughout the year helped stabilize a unit that suffered a rash of injuries in the first couple of weeks of the season. Frazier played so well that he\u2019s already being looked at<\/a> as one of the best centers in the league.<\/p>\n

At guard, it\u2019s more of a mixed bag. Left guard Isaac Seumalo provides the most consistency on the line. He\u2019s the only real veteran on the unit<\/a>\u00a0and has been as reliable as it gets over the last two years. At right guard, Mason McCormick surprisingly played well when called upon last year, but he\u2019s still got some more growing to do.<\/p>\n

The Steelers are comfortable on the interior, but the tackles are where it can get tricky. Broderick Jones is moving back to the left side, which the Steelers hope will become his permanent home. He feels like he\u2019s getting more comfortable there, but isn\u2019t providing the consistency the Steelers want just yet. Protecting Rodgers\u2019 blindside, he\u2019ll need to play well. On the other side, Troy Fautanu is essentially going into his rookie season after playing just one game last year. He could become a stalwart, but there could be some growing pains this year.<\/p>\n

As a whole, there\u2019s a ton of potential on the Steelers\u2019 offensive line. If everyone can take a step forward, this could become one of the best offensive lines in the entire league. However, most of this unit doesn\u2019t have a lot of experience together. On the right side, McCormick and Fautanu have to get used to being next to each other. Jones also has to get comfortable<\/a> next to Seumalo again on the left side. If this unit can collectively take a step forward, the offense will look much better this season. That might be asking a lot, though.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This offseason saw a lot of change for the Pittsburgh Steelers, especially on the offensive side of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133492,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[465,7,9314,21418,6,520,57,2360,426,12356,11462],"class_list":{"0":"post-133491","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-broderick-jones","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-isaac-seumalo","11":"tag-mason-mccormick","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-pittsburgh","14":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","15":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","16":"tag-steelers","17":"tag-troy-fautanu","18":"tag-zach-frazier"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114691072777973044","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133491\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}