When the Steelers hired Andy Weidl away from Philadelphia as their assistant general manager to Omar Khan, it was with the idea that he and his scouts might help the team quickly rebuild its offensive and defensive lines.
That had long been a point of emphasis for the Eagles in Weidl's days as vice president of player personnel in Philadelphia and it has carried over into the Steelers' first two drafts since he joined them.
The Steelers have selected five offensive linemen in the past two drafts, including using back-to-back first-round picks on tackles Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu, and two defensive linemen, including budding star Keeanu Benton.
The thing they all have in common is a tough-guy mentality, something Weidl said wasn't just by chance.
"I think we're heading in the right direction. You know, we're building it," Weidl said of the offensive line in particular. "You talk about physical, tough players, guys that fit art, their scheme, No. 1, being aligned with the coaches, guys that have explosive power, guys that have maturity to them. They love to compete. I think the guys we brought in, they all have that.
"They're athletic. They test so well. They have a certain mentality to them. And, you know, they provide range for our team, for offense, and the football maturity that they have. Really, I think this group is going to grow together, the guys we've gotten the last two years, and we're excited where they're going and the direction that they're heading."
Jones became a starter at right tackle last season and could bump over to left tackle this season once Fautanu, who suffered a sprained knee in last week's preseason opener against the Houston Texans, returns. Meanwhile, second-round pick Zach Frazier could get the start at center in the team's next preseason game Saturday night against the Buffalo Bills.
Frazier took snaps with the first-team offense at center at Thursday's joint practice with the Bills with veteran Nate Herbig sidelined with an undisclosed injury.
"We just know him really well. He's right in our backyard," Weidl said of the West Virginia product. "We had a comfort level. We saw him play here two years ago against Pitt, and I remember at halftime, (scout) Dan Colbert coming up to me, and he's like, do you see that center from West Virginia dumping guys on the ground? We both saw it, and he was on our radar then.
"We saw him play against BYU, and they had 200 yards rushing in the first half. And I mean, he was just mowing guys down. Then just getting to know the kid doing a school visit, the makeup. He's got a special football character to him. So, you know that we took all those guys into account.
"There were good centers in the draft, throughout the draft. But we felt he was one of the better ones, and we were just fortunate to get him where we got him in the second round."
• Dale Lolley is co-host of "SNR Drive" on Steelers Nation Radio. Subscribe to the podcast here: Apple Podcast | iHeart Podcast
The Steelers also have selected offensive linemen Spencer Anderson and Mason McCormick in the past two drafts, as well, giving them five young offensive linemen all working and growing together. Both Anderson and McCormick are expected to be key backups in 2024.
In addition to being big, tough and strong, all also have strong leadership skills in their backgrounds.
Weidl said that wasn't an accident, either.
"We talk about football character, football maturity, and these are guys that were captains that played a lot of football," Weidl said. They love the game. And they just, they played our style. They're physical.
"Look, if you want to be a physical, tough team, draft physical, tough players, right? Guys that love the game. It's not like a big secret or a magic formula. It's just, hey, if you want to be big, physical and tough, go draft big physical and tough, and guys are smart and love the game."
