The Pittsburgh Steelers are undergoing a major organizational change. The team will be going from Arthur Smith's offensive scheme to Mike McCarthy and Brian Angelichio's, a much more modern system in the NFL. McCarthy's offenses were excellent with the Dallas Cowboys, leading them to multiple playoff appearances, and Angelichio has coached under one of the best offensive minds in football, Kevin O'Connell. Now they will look to revive the offensive side of the ball in Pittsburgh.
Matt Freed / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Steelers' new head coach Mike McCarthy works with quarterback Aaron Rodgers during Organized Team Activities.
Along with the new coaching staff, the organization also made huge investments on offense, giving them a much-needed boost in talent with the additions of Michael Pittman Jr., Rico Dowdle, and Brock Hoffman. They also made the selections of Max Iheanachor, Germie Bernard, and Gennings Dunker in the 2026 NFL Draft, perhaps completing the most talent to that side of the ball in years. This should give fans in Steeler Nation lots to be optimistic about.
On top of the big additions to the offense, they also re-signed Aaron Rodgers, bringing back the future Hall of Famer for one final season. Rodgers' first season in the Black and Gold in 2025 is a tough one to judge for fans and pundits. He has the obvious restrictions that come with age, but his supporting cast was well below average. Now going into what Rodgers says is his final season, he will have a cast that NFL defenses will have to respect, which could potentially go a long way.
Though there are high expectations for the Steelers' offense, fans must remember the players will be playing in a completely new scheme. Recently, team insider Nick Farabaugh appeared on an episode of Locked On hosted by Christopher Carter, where a fan called into the show, asking if the pair believed the offense could leap into the top-10 category. Farabaugh believes that the offense finishing in the top-10 is perhaps too much of an ask right now.
"I think that's a little rich," Farabaugh said. "Here's a few factors: one, there's a lot of new. When you have a lot of new, there's often time you need to have to kind of break that in. So, I think early in the season, we could easily see the Steelers look a little sluggish on offense."
Not only will there be a new receiving core, but the offensive line will have a whole new look as well. With Troy Fautanu and Mason McCormick swapping to the left side, and a new right guard and right tackle slated to start, the offensive line will likely have early struggles, especially if the two rookies find themselves in the starting five. Farabaugh thinks this will be the biggest hurdle to overcome early on -- not necessarily an aging quarterback.
"I think the offensive line, you know, if they come out of the gate with Iheanachor out there or Dunker out there, I mean, those guys need grace periods, man; they're rooks. Those are not gonna be plug-and-play, great players right away, generally speaking, by the odds," Farabaugh stated.
Many insiders believe that in order for the offense to be successful, the offensive line must have a fast start. The offensive line has typically had slow starts to the season, but in 2026, they will need to change that, regardless of the changes they've endured.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (X: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Steelers offensive linemen Mason McCormick (66) and Zach Frazier (54) during 2025 training camp in Latrobe, PA.
Steelers' Offense Doesn't Need To Be A Top-10 Unit To Be Successful
The Steelers' offense ranked 15th in the NFL in scoring offense and went 10-7, winning the AFC North. Sure, 15th may not be ideal, but perhaps the 11th to 12th range would be a reasonable improvement. The end-of-season ranks only matter so much; their biggest improvement will have to be how they perform against the top defenses. The offense has crumbled against top NFL defenses in years past. That must change under McCarthy.
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