Most improved position groups during the 2023 NFL offseason

Offensive line – Pittsburgh Steelers

Additions: Isaac Seumalo, Nate Herbig, Broderick Jones & Spencer Anderson

Subtractions: Trent Scott & J.C. Hassenauer

Steelers offensive linemen Isaac Seumalo, Nate Herbig and Broderick Jones

I had two really good options here for the offensive line, between the Steelers and Bears, but I ultimately settled on the former, because they’ve given themselves more solutions I believe and actually barely lost anybody from a year ago.

The starting five from 2022 are still fully there, yet they most likely have at least two new starters along the front and at least one quality backup. Meanwhile, they’re losing a career swing tackle in Trent Scott, who had PFF grades between 39.6 and 61.7 in his four seasons prior to a very limited sample size in Pittsburgh this past year (31 snaps) and in his one season as a starter, he was charged with eight sacks and ten penalties.

Meanwhile, J.C. Hassenauer has been a solid backup for the Steelers in his three years there – primarily at center – but having brought in Kendrick Green and Mason Cole these past two offseasons, they’ve wanted to keep him in that role. Plus, we might see them move James Daniels back to the pivot, which is where he excelled at Iowa, and push even Cole to the bench.

One of the two guys I feel very good about taking over one of the starting spots is Isaac Seumalo. Coming over from Philly, this guy has started all 45 games he’s been available for over the past four seasons, as part of arguably the best offensive line in the league during that stretch.

Last season he swapped over to right guard and was equally effective as in prior years on the opposite side. With good girth throughout his 6’4”, 305-pound frame, he’s capable of creating significant lateral or vertical displacement, yet his agility to get to the far-pec of shaded defenders allows him to negate penetration on wide zone as well.

More importantly, he’s shown continuous improvement as a pass-protector, allowing just one sack and 25 total pressures across 753 pass-blocking snaps. The one thing he has to clean up is penalties. Yet, he offers the flexibility to play either side and get your best five out there.

Broderick Jones may be a young, fairly inexperienced player, but as the 14th overall pick, this guy should be a lock at left tackle, after a couple of replacement-level seasons there by Dan Moore Jr. Following some promising playing time late during Georgia’s 2021 run at a national championship, Jones took over full-time on the blindside and more than just got the job done.

This dude wants to make defenders want to leave the field whenever he’s allowed to just drive them out of the way in the run game, but he was also an extremely effective protector in his first season as a starter, not giving up any sacks and just nine total pressures across 425 pass-blocking snaps.

Pittsburgh will need to iron out his tendency of dipping his head at contact, but what he can provide getting out in space on crack-toss and screen plays and generally punishing smaller bodies on the fly could really give this unit a different attitude.

Nate Herbig began his career alongside Isaac Seumalo in Philadelphia, before spending a year with the Jets in 2022. He started 17 of 31 games over the latter of three seasons with the Eagles, before playing every single snap in the 11 contests he was used in New York this past year. He’s technically sound in terms of his first couple of steps and latching his hands in the run game, while having surrendered just four sacks and seven other QB hits across 1272 career pass-blocking snaps. To me, he’s a high-quality backup on the interior, with experience at all three spots.

Finally, I didn’t study Spencer Anderson in depth for the draft, but I thought he was a quality starter at Maryland, with starting experience at every spot along the front other than left guard and offers plus athleticism. So they can stash him probably and see what their coaches can get out of him.

The fact that Dan Moore Jr. was drafted 128th in the 2021 draft – which I actually thought was too early for him (and he immediately plugged in at left tackle, starting all but one of 34 games over the past couple of seasons, which he missed due to injury), kind of tells you where this O-line has been.

Looking at PFF grades for their primary starting centers over the last three years in comparison to the rest of the league with a 200+ snap minimum, Maurkice Pouncey finished 29th at the position (60.5) and Kendrick Green was actually a downgrade the following year at 39th (52.4), before Mason Cole put them above league-average at 13th overall (67.1).

As I mentioned at the top, if they feel like James Daniels can transfer his play to the pivot and Kevin Dotson is still part of your best five, now you have those two plus Seumalo on the interior, with a potential franchise left tackle in Broderick Jones and Chuks Okorafor starting finally really settling in on the opposite edge.

That should absolutely be a better group collectively, without even getting into the depth this provides them with, looking at whoever doesn’t make the starting lineup from that foursome I just described on the inside, Herbig as somebody with the versatility to plug into any of those three spots and Dan Moore having a couple of years of starting experience now.

Honorable mention: Chicago Bears