The Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line was a big question mark coming into the 2022 NFL season. How dire addressing the unit will be in the 2023 offseason via the draft or free agency changed drastically after the bye week. As the team began running the ball more efficiently, the question has subsided to an extent but that didn't stop Bleacher Report's, Kristopher Knox from highlighting big men up front on offense in his top 10 list of top players to target.
The team has some flexibility in what it can do salary cap-wise with some potential cuts of players at the end of the season to end up with extra space to make some moves in free agency. Knox thinks that Baltimore Ravens offensive guard Ben Powers would be a good fit in black and gold if he can't land a deal to stay with the Ravens which seems more than likely.
Ben Powers has started in 19 of 20 of the games he's played in for Baltimore in the last two years of his rookie contract / Photo Credit: Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
The three-year starter in college with the Oklahoma Sooners is a big dude at 6'4" and 310 pounds. In 2018 his senior year, he was named a consensus All-American. He was with the Ravens organization, who drafted him in the fifth round, and started in only seven games the first two seasons of his rookie deal. He's started every game he's been available for in the last seasons. He finished the 2022 season 10th in ESPN’s pass-block win rate and second in run-block win rate. He also fits into the Steelers' young offensive core.
One major reason to be optimistic about #Steelers is guys on offense are so damn young:
— David Todd (@DavidMTodd) January 19, 2023
Skill guys:
Pickett 24
Najee 24
Warren 24
Johnson 26
Pickens 21
Sims 25
Freiermuth 24
Heyward 23
OLine:
Moore 24
Dotson 26
Cole 26
Daniels 25
Chuks 25
Lots of room to learn/improve.
"The 26-year-old would be a tremendous addition to Pittsburgh's offensive interior," Knox wrote. "Not only would he help bolster Kenny Pickett's pass protection, but he would also help open running lanes for third-year back Najee Harris—which in turn, would aid the young quarterback. And, of course, it always feels good to steal talent away from a bitter division rival."
Ben Powers during a college home game against Kansas State / Photo Credit: AP Photo Sue Ogrocki
Steelers Addressing The Offensive Line
How many changes the organization decides to make to an offensive line that played almost every snap together could take a while, and who knows if it even gets decided right away in 2023. No matter what though, the Steelers will want to at least add competition to Dotson, Moore, James Daniels, Mason Cole and Chukwuma Okorafor for next year.
If they decide to bring in Powers from their hated rival he would probably be in a good position to steal away a job from one of Daniels or Dotson. The organization will have to decide whether they want to pay the potential raise for the guard Ravens GM Eric DeCosta thinks will be heavily sought after.
After an overhaul in the offseason, this year the Steelers may choose to do more tinkering instead of full-scale changes but Dan Moore (left) and Kevin Dotson (right) might be fighting for jobs next year / Photo Credit: Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
If the Steelers decide that they don't want to go into a potential bidding war or don't want to spend a pretty penny on an upgrade but were looking to make more of a depth move, Knox suggested giving formerly underappreciated during his tenure in Pittsburgh guard Kelvin Beachum. The 33-year-old was called for six penalties in 17 games this year and none of them were holding calls according to Pro Football Reference.
So, Steeler Nation, do you want to see the Steelers steal the highly-rated young Raven from Baltimore? Do you think the draft is a better way than free agency to address the line this offseason? Let us know in the comments or on social media.
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