'Blind Leading The Blind': Steelers Absolutely Picked Apart For Current Offensive Tackle Situation

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a retooled roster heading into the 2025 season. There have been upgrades in a lot of areas, but the offense especially looks different. Aaron Rodgers has taken over at quarterback, while new weapons like DK Metcalf, Jonnu Smith, and Kaleb Johnson are all going to be relied upon to make an impact. Those are all important players, but perhaps none are as important as the offensive line as a whole. The group is young, and the organization is relying on it to take a step forward in order to help the offense succeed.

The interior of the offensive line in Pittsburgh is the strong area, while the tackles are a little questionable. The Steelers are starting Broderick Jones at left tackle and Troy Fautanu at right tackle, who were each selected in the first round of their respective drafts. Jones is entering his third season, but he was forced to play right tackle during the first two years of his career. He is switching back to his natural side, and he has been struggling in Latrobe. That, plus relying on Fautanu, who has one career start, should make the fan base a little nervous about the group up front.

Former Steelers offensive lineman Trai Essex took to X on Thursday to give his opinion on the situation, and he believes that the organization needs to look at adding a veteran tackle.

"As it stands right now, I can’t imagine the Steelers going into the season with the current tackle situation being what it is." Essex wrote. "Two guys with one start between them at their current position being the bookends for a 41 yr old QB?!  Obviously gotta see what they can do in these preseason games, but I’m thinking a vet is probably getting signed before the end of camp."

Between Jones and Fautanu, they have each started one game at their current positions in the NFL. Jones started one game at left tackle during his rookie season, while Fautanu started in Week 2 of the 2024 season before suffering a season-ending injury. Essex sees this inexperience as weakness, which is why he is looking for Pittsburgh to bring in a veteran.

The inexperience at tackle is especially concerning because of the quarterback situation. Rodgers has lost some of his mobility and is 41-years old, which means it has to be a priority to protect him. Jones has not been able to prove he can do that throughout camp, which should make the coaching staff concerned for the regular season. Essex wrote more about the organization and the current situation at tackle.

"I’m sure this is not where they wanted to be." Essex said. "You would hope that one of those first rounders would have experience at this juncture in their career, but circumstances dictated otherwise. You bring in a vet for security and a sounding board for the young guys. Blind leading the blind currently."

Jones and Fautanu were both recent first-round picks, so there is no way that they are not the starters in Week 1. The organization has invested too much into both players, which means any veteran that is brought in to play tackle will not see the field unless things go poorly for an extended period of time.

Steelers Do Not Have Many External Options At Either Tackle Spot

The coaching staff in Pittsburgh is confident in Fautanu at right tackle, but Jones is a different story. If the franchise wanted to bring in some veteran help, there aren’t many options on the open market. The top option is likely George Fant, while a player like Jedrick Wills could also be considered, although he is still recovering from a knee injury and might miss the entire 2025 season.

Are you also worried about the tackle spots?