The Pittsburgh Steelers have had holes throughout their offensive line since the likes of David DeCastro, Alejandro Villanueva, and Maurkice Pouncey finished their Steeler careers. Pittsburgh has been trying to build their next great offensive line, but has run into trouble, and has already moved on from some draft picks via trade. Pittsburgh traded Kevin Dotson to the Los Angeles Rams ahead of the 2023 season, and they also moved on from Kendrick Green when they sent him to the Houston Texans. The players performed poorly in Pittsburgh, but it was mainly because they were set up for failure by Head Coach Mike Tomlin and his coaching staff.
The Steelers tried to play Green at center, even though his natural spot was at left guard, while playing Dotson at left guard, even though he was known to be more comfortable at right guard. Dotson started every game for Pittsburgh at left guard in 2022 and recorded a Pro Football Focus grade of 65.4. In one season at right guard with the Rams, he earned a grade of 85.2 and got himself a contract extension. Offensive line guru, Duke Manyweather, spoke about the Steelers mistakes with Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
"I respect Coach Tomlin and I respect Pat Meyer, got a great relationship with both of them, and I've been very frank with them about this. Kendrick Green should have been playing left guard from the start like he is down in Houston. Kevin Dotson should have been playing right guard from the start. There's this conversation that always goes on about 'guys need to be able to play both sides,' that's bull***t."
Dotson went on to see a ton of success in Los Angeles, as he signed a three-year, $48 million deal thanks to his stellar play during the 2023 season. Green started three games at left guard to begin the season for the Texans before he suffered a torn meniscus which landed him on injured reserve. He looked much more comfortable playing to the left of the center, rather than being the center. Green even started in Week 4 against the Steelers, where the Texans won 30-6 and their offense looked unstoppable.
Pittsburgh drafted Green in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, with the intention of him being the successor to Pouncey, despite Green playing 1,913 snaps at left guard in college to just 326 snaps at center. Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who took snaps from Green in his last year in 2021, has publicly criticized the organization for the decision to draft Green to be a center.
The Steelers clearly mismanaged the careers of both Green and Dotson, who were selected with a third and fourth round pick. The Steelers moved on from both players ahead of the 2023 season and got a sixth round pick in return for Green, and a fourth and fifth round pick from the Rams in exchange for Dotson and a fifth and sixth round selection.
Steelers Could Be Making The Same Mistake Again
The Steelers selected Broderick Jones with the 14th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He was drafted to be a left tackle as he had played 1,358 snaps there in his last two college seasons. Pittsburgh doesn't like to start rookies right away, so he sat on the bench at the start of the season. Jones filled in for an injured Dan Moore Jr. a few times, but would always return to the bench. In Week 8 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, starting right tackle Chukwuma Okorafor was benched by the coaching staff in the middle of the game. Jones would go on to start the rest of the year at right tackle.
Jones had an okay rookie season, it was nothing special, but it could have been better if he had gotten the chance to play his natural position. He recorded his highest PFF grade of the season against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5 when he started for an injured Moore Jr. The Steelers need to be sure to draft a starting-caliber right tackle in 2024 to avoid making another critical mistake along the offensive line.
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