The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback competition has seemingly controlled headlines throughout the duration of training camp in Latrobe. The Steelers are in search for their guy at the quarterback spot for 2022 and the position is one of the most coveted positions in all of sports; it's very rare to be a successful NFL team without essentially having a franchise guy under center. We are all aware that each quarterback's performance will be under a microscope on Saturday as the Steelers take on the Seattle Seahawks at the "new" Acrisure Stadium. However, another position group should capture a lot of attention as well.
Pittsburgh Steelers center, Mason Cole (left), and guard James Daniels (right), participate in phase two of the voluntary off-season workout program, Tuesday, May 17, 2022 at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. | Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
“I hope so,” former Steelers OL Trai Essex stated while answering if the team has done enough to improve up front on 93.7 The Fan. “It is yet to be seen, but we did bring in two guys in Mason Cole and James Daniels that were two ‘under-the-radar’ guys. But I am excited about them. Mason Cole was a part of an offensive line that blocked for Dalvin Cook, and we’ve seen how good [Cook] is. Then we brought in Daniels, who I thought was really good coming out of Iowa, is a versatile player that can play both center and guard. Plus, he’s young and already has a lot of experience at only 24 years old.”
A former Steelers offensive lineman is confident in the Steelers big guys up front, but will they show they are working cohesively on Saturday?
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Daniels has really appreciated camp for a solid opportunity to get to know his new teammates.
“It’s been going really well,” Daniels said via a recent Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article. “It’s a great group of guys, and we are striving to get better every day. It’s amazing the strides we’ve made in a 2½-week span.”“That’s the good part of camp,” Daniels continued. “We’re getting to know each other. Yeah, there are a lot of new pieces up front, but we all still have the same goal. We’re going to keep on improving every day.”
With Daniels locked in at right guard for the offensive line, Cole at center, Dan Moore Jr. at left tackle, and Chukwuma Okorafor at right tackle, the Steelers have another battle taking place up front to determine the starter at left guard.
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Two young talents, former center Kendrick Green and Kevin Dotson are in the midst of a heated battle to determine who starts at left guard for the team in this upcoming 2022 season. It'll be interesting to see how the reps are divvied out among the two maulers.
Sure, it's an exhibition game, but it could be promising to see both players flourish as fans and analysts looking for any kind of improvement for the Steelers up front. Jobs are won and lost in preseason games and that very well be the case for Green or Dotson on Saturday! Dotson has missed time at practice this week, so we'll see what his availability is like come game day. Make sure to tune in to see if the black and gold's big guys up front are playing cohesively as a unit overall.
What are yinz thoughts on the Steelers offensive line being a must-watch in the first taste of preseason action? Sound off in the comment section below, or on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram!
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