By: Jake Rajala

The Pittsburgh Steelers don’t have one offensive lineman that deserves to throw a stone in 2022. The Steelers OL was recently dubbed as the 30th best OL by PFF. The Steelers OL consists of LT Dan Moore Jr, LG Kevin Dotson, C Mason Cole, RG James Daniels, and RT Chukwuma Okorafor. Moore Jr. was a modest blind-side LT for a 23-year-old last season – as he garnered a 57.8 grade by PFF (while allowing several sacks). It will be vital that he can improve in his sophomore season for the likely starting, somewhat shaky QB Mitchell Trubisky. It should be noted that the former Steelers OG Ramon Foster feels optimistic about the young LT. Per Heavy., Foster stated, “I’m excited for him. He is able to get in space, which gives him high lights. He finishes well. His technique has been good, too, and his knowledge of the game will just continue to evolve the more and more he plays.

Dotson had a somewhat admirable rookie campaign with a clear display of pass-blocking talent (with zero sacks allowed), but he sadly took a step back in his sophomore season – as he allowed 3 sacks and had a PFF grade of 64.5 in nine games. He has regressed (to say the least), but he is still a young OL.

The center Mason Cole is a steady veteran that was scooped up from the NFL club in the Twin Cities this off-season. Cole notched a 69.7 grade by PFF in 2021 – with only two sacks allowed & 0 penalties enforced. The 26-year-old inked a three-year deal worth $15.75 million dollars with the Steelers.

The Steelers should feel quite confident in the RG James Daniels – as he garnered a 71.8 grade by PFF in 2021. His new teammate, Cole, recently spoke very positively about Daniels. Per Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Cole stated, “James is awesome, man. He’s going to be really good for our camp. He’s fun to be around. He’s never complaining, always working hard. He’s here to go to work, and he’s here to have a good time, too, which is fun.” It’s widely enunciated that Daniels is talented and passionate.

The Steelers RT, Chukwuma Okorafor, had his ups and downs in 2021: He had a whopping 11 penalties, but he helped his rookie RB Najee Harris rush for He garnered 1,200 yds and 7 TDs. His crucial involvement in the Steelers ground attack is why the Steelers brought him back on a three-year deal worth $29.5 million dollars.

It’s easy to say the Steelers OL isn’t sexy or near the same caliber of previous Steelers OLs in the Mike Tomlin era (which are both accurate statements). Although, it should be noted that the Steelers OL is quite young – as Mason Cole is the only starter over the age of 25 (and he’s 26). The Steelers will have growing pains, but they could certainly ascend into a potent OL unit in the future.

The post Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line outlook right now appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Brady Akins

There’s nothing more exciting than a fantasy football rookie. And among all the rookies from the 2021 Draft class, there might be no rookie more exciting than the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first-round pick, Najee Harris.

Harris, the running back out of Alabama, has the tall task of turning around the Pittsburgh Steelers dreadful rushing offense from 2020– something he could definitely do if all goes right.

The question then becomes less of can he turn it around, and more of will he turn things around.

Well, maybe. Let’s see.

Optimistic: 

You would be hard-pressed to find a rookie running back with more talent than Najee Harris. For that matter, you might struggle to find many running backs at all with more pure talent than the former Alabama standout.

The Steelers’ first-round pick excelled in college as a powerful, athletic, dual-threat player at running back– with a penchant for explosive running and a nose for the endzone. Anchoring that to specific stats, Harris finished his final two seasons in college with a combined 2,690 rushing yards on 5.8 yards per carry, 39 rushing touchdowns, 70 catches, 729 yards and 11 receiving touchdowns.

Just about everything you would want from a potential fantasy RB1. 

And, without question, Harris’ ceiling, even as a rookie, should be set at high-end RB1. Not only because of his skill and college resume, but because of the opportunity he should get.

The Steelers have made a habit over the years of maximizing the potential of their skill position players– with the running back position standing out as evidence. LeVeon Bell, the former Pittsburgh star running back, wrapped up his Steelers’ tenure with two All-Pro seasons and three Pro Bowl appearances. In the two seasons he’s played since then, he’s combined for 1,117 rushing yards on 327 carries– just 3.4 yards per attempt. 

Pittsburgh elevated Bell to All-Pro heights, and with the word around training camp being the Steelers want to make Harris a dedicated three-down, every situation running back, they can do the same for their rookie.

Pessimistic:

Harris can play the role of three-down back all he wants, it won’t matter if he doesn’t get the touches.

For as talented as Harris is, he now finds himself on a Pittsburgh offense that featured an abominable rushing attack last season. In 2020, the Steelers finished bottom five in the NFL in total rushing attempts, last in rushing yards by over 100, and last in yards per attempt at a lowly 3.6.

While it’s true that the Steelers lacked a true running back talent like Harris, they also weren’t putting their backs in positions to succeed either, trotting out an offensive line that finished 24th in ESPN’s run block win rate metric– and lost just about every starter from an already below-average position group. 

That’s a far cry from Harris’ luxurious lifestyle in Alabama, with an offensive line so good it saw three of its five starters get selected in the 2021 NFL Draft. 

For as good as his numbers were in 2020, Harris hasn’t had to deal with adversity as much as he will in Pittsburgh. Things could turn sour in an unexpected flash for Harris.

Realistic: 

Harris’ offensive situation is”¦ less than ideal. Playing for an offensive line that will likely feature five new starters, and for an offense that ran the ball worse than any other team in 2020, in big part by a ”˜quick pass early and often’ design.

Expecting Harris to put up numbers similar to what he produced at Alabama would be criminally insane. Even if he is a three-down back as advertised, that doesn’t mean he’ll be getting the same volume as other such backs like Christian McCaffrey, who’s averaged 25 touches per game in each of his last two seasons. 

And that’s the gold standard for running backs. McCaffrey is the pinnacle of volume monsters, and he plays on an offense where just about everything runs through him. If the Steelers don’t make dramatic changes to their offensive philosophy, Harris won’t come anything close to that.

With all that said”¦ 

Harris is too good to not overcome the issues plaguing the Steelers. Even with poor run blocking, Harris’ potential as a receiver will keep him a factor in the offense. While his skill as a runner might be good enough at times to overcome an onslaught of defenders blasting through an inexperienced offensive line.

Maybe don’t expect Harris to be the second coming of Marshall Faulk from day one– but he can still be a quality contributor to the Steelers offense, and your fantasy offense as well.

The post What are the realistic expectations for Najee Harris? appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jeremy Trottier

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in a relatively interesting position after the 2020-2021 season.  Odds are Ben Roethlisberger will retire after this season, based on his previous injuries as well as his age and contract.  After a first round exit in last season’s playoffs, they likely will be trying to go all in on this season to make a push to give big Ben a proper sendoff.  In this article, I will be going over three reasons as to why the Pittsburgh Steelers are still contending for a Super Bowl in the 2021-2022 season.

Top Defense in the League

One of the biggest selling points for the Steelers as of the last few seasons is how phenomenal their defense has continually been.  In 2020 they finished with the best DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average), at a total of -20.2% (DVOA has a lowest = best standard).  This was 1.2% ahead of second place which was New Orleans at -19.0%.  Another stat that is impressive towards this notion is they only gave up the third least amount of yards over the course of the regular season, at 4,893 yards (20 behind 2^nd place).  

They also ended up tied for first in most interceptions taken away from opponents at 18 (tied with New Orleans, Miami, and New England).  Overall, this defense is one of the if not the best currently in the NFL, which hugely helps the Steelers chances at making a run for the deep playoffs.  As we saw this season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were able to succeed so much due to an extremely potent defense, alongside a quality offense.  

Skill Position Talent

The Steelers have really improved their skill positions in the last few seasons, with additions like Najee Harris, Chase Claypool, Pat Freiermuth, Eric Ebron, and more in the past few offseasons.  Adding these players on top of others like Juju Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson, and James Washington allow them to really give Ben Roethlisberger a chance to just get the ball to playmakers and let them do the work. 

The addition of Najee Harris cannot be overlooked, despite the Steelers need for IOL.  Najee is an extremely talented back based on what we all saw at the college level from him, and if he can continue this at the NFL level, the Steelers should have their new elite playmaker.  Pat Freiermuth is also a very solid pickup, ranked by most as the number two tight end in the class his receiving abilities add to an already stout passing attack.

The Offensive Line Additions

One of the biggest gaps people have been pointing to on this Steelers roster is the offensive line, as they lost a lot of their starters this offseason.  With that said, they have the players along this line to hold up when needed.  Going from left to right, they have at LT presumably Zach Banner, who despite only playing 59 snaps in 2020, allowed zero sacks and had no penalties.  He played in 14 games only a season ago as well for the Cleveland Browns, so he has some experience.

At left guard they have Trai Turner, probably the most solidified and high quality member of the line, has started 89 of 93 games he has played in, and has been a very solid member of the teams he has played for so far.  At C, presumably the sophomore from Alabama will get the start in J.C. Hassenauer, who despite being an UDFA, got four starts in his 2020 rookie debut and gave up no sacks in all his snaps.  He does need to work on penalties, as he had five in his four starts, but that is able to be worked on.  Another sophomore at LG is Kevin Dotson, the 6’4” 321 pound monster out of University of Louisiana at Lafayette.  A 4^th round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, he also got 4 starts in 13 games, allowing 0 sacks and only having three penalties, as well as a 66.2 PFF grade, which despite not being the be all end all of how good a player is, it has a lot of good factors going into it.  Finally, at RT, Chukwuma Okorafor, one of my personal favorites to really show up in 2021.  At 6’6” 320 pounds, his frame is absolutely perfect to be a tackle, and he has an innate ability to anchor down and stop rushers in their tracks.  This will be huge for Najee Harris as a gap rusher, because Okorafor will be able to create those gaps for him. 

The post Why the Pittsburgh Steelers are still Super Bowl contenders for 2021 appeared first on Pro Football Mania.