Steelers trying to tackle issue of whether to take OL in 1st round of NFL Draft

The best trait found in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive line last season was reliability.

Not only did the starting five play in all 17 games, four starters never missed a snap. Center Mason Cole was the outlier, staying on the field for all but 46 of a potential 1,160 plays.

Such dependability is rare in the NFL trenches, and the cohesion helped the Steelers’ line jell as the season progressed. The line showed improvement — fewer sacks of Kenny Pickett, more rushing yards by Najee Harris — as the Steelers closed on a four-game winning streak to finish the season 9-8.

“It was really encouraging to see those guys grow and come together and just become better as the season went on,” general manager Omar Khan said at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.

That doesn’t mean Khan, coach Mike Tomlin and team president Art Rooney II are content to maintain the status quo in 2023 even though all five starters remain under contract.

Offensive line, despite the strong finish to the season, is an area the Steelers are expected to address early in the draft if only because the organization can’t count on all five starters being available for 17 more starts next season.

Although the Steelers’ depth never seriously was tested, it was only a year earlier that four players made starts at guard and only one player — the since-departed Trai Turner — didn’t miss a game.

“It’s always a continual grind getting enough offensive linemen,” Cincinnati Bengals general manager Duke Tobin said at the combine.

Tobin speaks from experience. The Bengals made it to the Super Bowl in 2021 despite a patchwork offensive line protecting franchise quarterback Joe Burrow. The position was upgraded last offseason, and the Bengals returned to the AFC championship game.

“College don’t have enough offensive linemen,” Tobin said. “The NFL doesn’t have enough offensive linemen. Certainly, the new leagues that are playing don’t have enough offensive linemen. It’s a very difficult skill.

“They’re going against the best athletes in the world. NFL defensive linemen are big, fast, powerful, and they have real traits, and it’s a difficult and demanding position, and it’s hard to find.”

After investing at center and the right side of the line last year in free agency, the Steelers could try to upgrade the left side where a pair of fourth-rounders reside in tackle Dan Moore and guard Kevin Dotson.

Tasked with protecting the quarterback’s blind side, Moore allowed a team-high seven sacks and Dotson was next with four, according to Pro Football Focus. On the right side, tackle Chuks Okorafor was charged with three sacks and guard James Daniels none.

The Steelers have gone a decade without taking an offensive lineman in the first round, guard David DeCastro in 2012. Khan’s predecessor, Kevin Colbert, went the entire length of his Steelers career, which started in 2000, without taking a tackle in the first round. The forgettable Jamain Stephens, in 1996, was the last taken by the Steelers in the opening round.

If the Steelers end that streak, they may have to trade up to get one of the top tackle prospects or stand pat at No. 17 and hope one falls to them.

Considered the top talent is Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski, although some scouts have the 6-foot-4, 315-pounder pegged as a guard rather than a tackle because of his arm length.

“Teams have just kind of asked me where I see myself,” Skoronski said Saturday at the combine. “I said that I’m a tackle. I play tackle but am more than willing to play anywhere. Teams talk about versatility for sure, too. If they move me to guard, I’m happy to do that. No one has really said, ‘You have to play guard, you can’t play tackle.’ No one has really boxed me in.”

Another Big Ten prospect with the ability to play both spots is Ohio State’s Paris Johnson, who started at right guard for the Buckeyes before moving to left tackle in 2022.

“I think I’m a natural tackle, but I want to be part of the best five,” Johnson said Saturday. “So, if I have to snap it and be the center, I’ll do it. That’s just how I’m willing to play.”

Georgia left tackle Broderick Jones, another first-round talent, said his “sweet feet” enabled him use his 6-4, 310-pound frame to take on defensive linemen while helping the Bulldogs win the national championship.

“I think it helps put my game on the next level,” said Jones, who met with the Steelers at the combine.

NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah had Jones going No. 13 to the New York Jets in his latest mock draft. He was the third tackle off his board, following Skoronski (No. 9 to Carolina) and Johnson (No. 11 to Tennessee).

“I think his best football is still ahead of him,” Jeremiah said about Jones, who left school after his redshirt sophomore season. “He is incredibly strong. He is incredibly athletic. What he can do in the second-level stuff and the run game as well as in the screen game is outstanding.”