Steelers' Offensive Line Failure Points Toward An Overlooked Culprit

The Pittsburgh Steelers spent years selling their offensive-line rebuild as the foundation of a physical contender. Premium draft picks were poured into the position while the young blockers developed together. After another dreadful performance, the question is whether Pittsburgh selected the right players to execute its plan.

Pittsburgh allowed Aaron Rodgers to be sacked four times during Sunday's 20-3 loss to the New England Patriots. The running game produced little momentum, protection repeatedly collapsed and the offense finished with only 235 total yards. Those failures were not caused by one struggling lineman or one poor matchup.

"But the big picture is, guys, maybe it's just the talent," Fittipaldo said. "Maybe these guys were just overdrafted. Maybe we bought into the whole thing: build through the offensive line, we will do this and do that. If that is the issue, then they are really in trouble."

That possibility would be far more damaging than a temporary schematic problem. Coaching adjustments can simplify assignments, repair communication and help a young unit play faster. There is no equally convenient solution if several highly drafted linemen simply cannot perform at the level Pittsburgh projected.

Mark Kaboly then asked who should absorb responsibility if the talent was misidentified. General Manager Omar Khan would ordinarily become the immediate target. Kaboly instead redirected attention toward Assistant General Manager Andy Weidl, whose influence has been closely connected to Pittsburgh's trench rebuild.

"Whose fault would that be, though? Whoa, whoa, whoa, I thought Andy Weidl was the player guy," Kaboly said. "Which one is it now? When they drafted all these guys, it was that Andy is the offensive-line guru. He knows who to pick."

Kaboly was not completely removing Khan from the equation. His argument was that an NFL front office divides responsibilities according to the strengths and expertise of its leading evaluators. If Khan regularly leans on Weidl's judgment with offensive linemen, then any systematic failure to identify that talent should reach beyond the general manager alone.

"I just think one of them does one thing well and the other does this well," Kaboly said. "I think if it comes to that and there was a misidentification of the talent of these guys, you need to blame the personnel people more than you blame the GM."

Weidl's responsibilities make the argument worth examining. He helps construct Pittsburgh's draft board, which Khan, the head coach and team president use during the selection process. Weidl also arrived with a reputation for identifying talent and building lines in Philadelphia. 

That does not make every offensive-line selection exclusively his decision. Drafting is collaborative, development belongs to the coaching staff and players remain responsible for turning opportunity into production. However, Pittsburgh cannot market Weidl's trench-building influence when the plan appears promising and then pretend his role is irrelevant when the same unit collapses.

Steelers' Offensive Line Woes Demand An Honest Personnel Review

Two games are not enough to permanently label every young blocker a mistake. Frazier has already shown legitimate starting ability, Fautanu played well during stretches of 2025 and Iheanachor remains a developing rookie with considerable physical upside. The concern is that the collective investment has not produced anything resembling a dependable offensive foundation.

Pittsburgh must determine whether the current mess reflects talent, development, positioning or all three. If the blockers are capable, Mike McCarthy and his staff need to prove it by creating a cleaner plan and demanding more physical execution. If the evaluations were wrong, the Steelers cannot keep protecting the architects while Rodgers absorbs the consequences.

Who deserves the most blame for the Steelers' offensive-line failure: Khan, Weidl, the coaches or the players? Send your Pittsburgh Steelers opinions to me on X at @anthonyghalkias, and follow me for more discussion about the front office.