In recent years the Pittsburgh Steelers have invested a ton of draft capital in their offensive line. They\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n On paper, things look pretty darn good for the Steelers, both in 2026 and beyond.<\/p>\n Yet, for CBS Sports\u2019 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\u2019s offensive lines, landing in the unproven tier due to so many \u201cmoving parts.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou have Troy Fautanu, who is flipping from right tackle to left tackle \u2019cause Broderick Jones had a spinal fusion [surgery]. You have rookie contract guys at left guard and center,\u201d Renner said, according to video via the show\u2019s YouTube page.<\/a> \u201cEven if Zach Frazier\u2019s one of the best centers in the NFL already, there\u2019s 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\u2019ve used on this offensive line, like Broderick Jones, like I said unlikely to play this year with that spinal fusion.<\/p>\n \u201cThen 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Broderick Jones\u2019 injury and the uncertainty surrounding his health in 2026 is a real concern. Who knows if he\u2019s even be able to play this season after having spinal-fusion surgery.<\/p>\n That injury necessitated Fautanu\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n The right side of the offensive line? That\u2019s 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<\/a> at right tackle until Iheanachor is ready to go.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Acosta doesn\u2019t view it that way and is much higher on the group overall.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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\u2019s going to be rock solid at left tackle,\u201d Acosta said of the Steelers\u2019 offensive line. \u201cZach Frazier\u2019s 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\u2026I do think that when they want to get down and grimy and run the football, they\u2019ve shown that they can do that.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I think that that group is still very young. I think you add Max Iheanachor into that group and I just think that you\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n