This is the ninth in a series looking at the Steelers by position heading into their 2024 training camp at Saint Vincent College July 24. Today: Offensive Line
Players (15): Dan Moore Jr., Isaac Seumalo, Nate Herbig, James Daniels, Broderick Jones, Troy Fautanu, Zach Frazier, Mason McCormick, Spencer Anderson, Dylan Cook, Ryan McCollum, Hardy Anderson, Tyler Beach, Joey Fisher, Devery Hamilton
There are retools and there are rebuilds. The Steelers have done a little bit of both over the last two seasons on their offensive line.
Of the offensive linemen with the team for the start of the 2022 season, only two, guard James Daniels and tackle Dan Moore Jr., remain with the team.
Free agency has seen the team add Isaac Seumalo and Nate Herbig in 2023, while the past two drafts have brought in Broderick Jones, Spencer Anderson, Troy Fautanu, Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick.
It's quite the makeover.
And the results of that began to manifest themselves in the second half of the 2023 season, when the Steelers began running the ball extremely effectively, averaging 145.2 rushing yards per game over their final 10 outings. Had the Steelers maintained that pace over the course of a full season, they would have finished second in the NFL in rushing in 2023.
Enter new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, whose Atlanta Falcons team in 2023 had the third-most rushing attempts in the NFL with 522, 35 more than the Steelers.
"You look at the history they've had here," Smith said. "There's a great history on both sides of the line of scrimmage, especially when they've won Super Bowls. Both sides. It's just something I believed in."
The Steelers want to be tough and physical up front and that begins with the offensive line.
So, it's no coincidence the team selected Fautanu in the first round of this year's draft, adding Frazir in the second and McCormick in the fourth round.
But that also doesn't mean any will be handed a starting spot. They'll have to earn it, something that could happen starting in training camp at Saint Vincent College next week.
Technically, the Steelers return four starters from that line that was one of the best run blocking groups in the league last season, as only center Mason Cole was not brought back.
Dan Moore Jr. has started the past three seasons at left tackle, while Seumalo and Daniels return as the starting guards. Jones took over midway through the season at right tackle, while Herbig was the team's top backup on the interior line and will compete with Frazier for the starting center spot.
Fautanu was a left tackle at the University of Washington, but said he largely worked on the right side during the offseason program.
McCormick, meanwhile, will work to be in the mix as the chief backup at both guard spots, though the loser of the center competition will be in line to handle that role, as well.
A seventh-round draft pick in 2023, Anderson lined up at all five spots during training camp and the preseason last year, showing the kind of versatility that teams value in backup linemen. He'll get another opportunity to show his value to the team in this camp.
Dylan Cook earned a spot on the roster as a backup tackle in 2023, and while he didn't wind up playing a single snap, the team thought enough of him to not expose him to waivers, even when dealing with injuries at other positions that left it short of roster spots.
Center Ryan McCollum has spent the past two seasons on the Steelers' practice squad after playing in 13 games in 2021, including one start, for the Lions. The former Texas A&M star will make his third attempt to earn a spot on the 53-man roster at the end of camp.
Guard Joey Fisher also spent time on the Steelers' practice squad last season as a rookie, while the team added undrafted free agents Hardy Anderson, Tyler Beach and Devery Hamilton after the draft, giving them 15 players to fill out what should be a competitive and talented three-deep depth chart.
