Young Steelers offensive line evolves from perceived weakness to solid unit

Along with a trio of quarterbacks, four Pittsburgh Steelers offensive linemen were in attendance at PPG Paints Arena for the Penguins game against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.

“(Quarterback Aaron Rodgers) reached out to us and asked if we wanted to go,” starting left guard Mason McCormick said. “It was a fun experience.”

The gathered Steelers were shown to the television audience on the SportsNet Pittsburgh broadcast and were on the big video board at the arena, drawing cheers.

Along with Rodgers, the linemen earned the adulation. They’ve been paying that well lately.

“I feel like we’ve improved week to week, especially the last couple weeks,” center Zach Frazier said. “We’ve gotten better and better, and we just need to keep that going.”

After a rough start to the season, the (mostly) young Steelers offensive line has gradually rounded into form. A unit that appeared to be a weakness after the first two games of the season has turned into an increasingly reliable group that has been stacking solid performances over the past month.

That’s a development that has contributed to the offense playing with confidence headed into Sunday night’s home game against the NFC-leading Green Bay Packers.

“I feel like every single game, you see the (offensive) numbers keep going up,” right tackle Troy Fautanu said. “So as long as we go in that direction, we’ll be good.”

While objectively quantifying the performance of an offensive line can be difficult, some numbers help paint the picture of improving unit:

• Whereas over the first two games of the season Rodgers was sacked seven times, in the four games since, he’s been brought down only twice.

• The running game averaged 63.0 yards per game and 2.8 per carry over the first three games; it’s been at 126.0 per game and 4.8 per carry over the past three.

• Over the Steelers’ first four games, Rodgers was letting go of the ball in an average of 2.48 seconds while throwing it 4.7 yards downfield with an average completion of 2.7 yards past the line of scrimmage. Over the past two games, those digits evolved to 2.82 seconds, 8.1 yards and 4.7 yards.

• The Steelers’ per-game average total yardage through three games was 247.0. Since, it’s been 348.0.

While not 100% of the improvements can be attributed to the offensive line, the group is passing the “eye test” in its play and is beginning to gain more confidence.

“We’re definitely turning in the right direction,” left tackle Broderick Jones said. “We just got to keep going and keep playing as a unit.”

Steelers LT Broderick Jones on the o-line jelling together and improving as the season goes on pic.twitter.com/SHWGZhnO8K

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) October 20, 2025

The Steelers entered the season with a starting offensive line that aside from 10-year veteran Isaac Seumalo had a combined 57 career starts: 15 by Frazier, 14 from McCormick, one from Fautanu and 27 by Jones — albeit, 26 of those prior starts by Jones were at right tackle, making him a relative pro newbie at left tackle.

The five Steelers linemen had never played a game together in their current configuration. For only one game before 2025 had all five played in a game together at all, and no more than three had started at their 2025 spots for a game together.

In that respect, it is only natural it took some time for the unit to jell (though Sunday might be the first time the group is not all together because Frazier is listed as questionable to play because of a calf injury).

“To have the same guys for every game (is huge), because that chemistry is real,” offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said. “Every snap those guys get, the more you get comfortable working with somebody, that helps. You see what happens, what I’ve seen a lot of times on lines and good lines is they build, they almost create their own language. It’s like they know how just by certain movements what the guy is thinking. That’s what you want, and that’s cool to watch that growth and development for all those guys, especially the young four guys we got.”

The Steelers used premium draft capital in rebuilding their O-line over a 13-month span of two drafts: Jones was a first-round pick in 2023, Fautanu the first-rounder a year later, Frazier last year’s second-round pick and McCormick taken before the halfway point of the 2024 draft (119th overall).

As each enters Year No. 2 or 3 as a pro, the group is providing dividends in the team’s investments.

“We’re just trying to get better every week,” McCormick said. “Just trying to keep growing. We’re a young group, and we’re going to keep climbing.”