The Pittsburgh Steelers have one of the most drastic shifts on the offensive side of the football in the entire NFL. From three new quarterbacks, largely an entirely new wide receiver unit, a swap at offensive coordinator, and two new, exciting offensive linemen in Troy Fautanu and Zach Frazier, Pittsburgh is going to have a different vibe to it.
Russell Wilson or Justin Fields starting will give the team a new look, which it has not had in a long time. But even with some upgrades across the unit sans wide receiver, does that even mean the team’s offense will be appreciably good? Bleacher Report does not see it in their new rankings. They have the Steelers ranking as the 26th offense in the NFL, eighth worst in the league despite all of the change.
“The offensive line is also a reason to get excited. Broderick Jones should be better in Year 2, and first-round pick Troy Fautanu should be an upgrade at left tackle,” they wrote. “However, there are still reasons to be skeptical. Wilson is an appreciable upgrade over Pickett, but Mr. Unlimited will be 35 this season, and there are a lot of new pieces learning a new system under Smith.”
Take that however you will, but there are reasons to be skeptical. Even though Wilson and Fields are likely upgrades, does that offset the loss at wide receiver? Of course, Pittsburgh can add to that room. Does Arthur Smith fall into the same traps he did in Atlanta, or does he learn and evolve into a new offense? How fast can everything mesh?
The Steelers have lots of questions on that side of the football. It should be better, but it will be a different style, and the number of sacks that guys like Wilson and Fields take exposes the group to unwanted negativity. So, Pittsburgh has to be aware of all those factors if they want to take the step forward.
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