All eyes entering the Pittsburgh Steelers\u2019 2025 season will be on quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but the one group that is the most important to any success \u2014 or failure \u2014 for the Black and Gold resides in the trenches.<\/p>\n
That would be with the young offensive line that is seemingly improved on paper but needs to show it in actual games.<\/p>\n
For ESPN\u2019s Damien Woody, who appeared on The Pat McAfee Show Wednesday, if the Steelers\u2019 offensive line takes a step forward this season<\/a>, can protect new quarterback Aaron Rodgers and consistently open running lanes, the Steelers will be \u201ccooking\u201d under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.<\/p>\n \u201cListen, I think the offensive line with the Pittsburgh Steelers is the biggest unknown and I think the biggest factor in how well this Pittsburgh Steelers team can play and how far they can go,\u201d Woody said, according to video via the show\u2019s YouTube page.<\/a> \u201cBecause I think if the Pittsburgh Steelers are getting the Aaron Rodgers that we saw towards the end of the season last year when he was healthy, I think the Pittsburgh Steelers will be hell to play against because listen, first of all, any Mike Tomlin-coach[ed] team is always going to come and prepare to play.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know that identity lies on the defensive side of the football, but the one thing when you saw the Pittsburgh Steelers last year when they collapsed, the primary reason why they collapsed is because they couldn\u2019t get anything generated on the offense side, particularly quarterback position.\u201d<\/p>\n The Steelers are coming into 2025 with high hopes for their young offensive line. Broderick Jones is back at left tackle after two years at right tackle, while second-year pro Troy Fautanu is healthy and looking like one of the best linemen on the team through training camp and the preseason.<\/p>\n On the interior, center Zach Frazier looks like the next franchise great, while many are high on right guard Mason McCormick and the edge he brings to the group. That doesn\u2019t even mention veteran left guard Isaac Seumalo, who is the steady leader for the group and is quietly one of the better guards in football year after year.<\/p>\n With a rookie Kaleb Johnson a better fit schematically in Smith\u2019s zone scheme, and a quarterback in Rodgers who reads the field well and is good at getting the offense into the right looks, things are really looking up for Pittsburgh\u2019s offense.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n