The Pittsburgh Steelers need a franchise left tackle. It is not a secret within Steeler Nation but the rest of the NFL talking heads just assume the entire offensive line is bad. It is not true, and they were the only unit to play every snap together last season as a unit. The Steelers’ line was ever so slightly above average, but Andy Weidl and Omar Khan are hard at work on upgrades.
Getty Images
Steelers' newly-acquired offensive guard Isaac Seumalo
The Steelers have significantly upgraded at left guard with Isaac Seumalo. Nate Herbig and Le’Raven Clark are going to push James Daniels and Chukwoma Okorafor for playing time. There have been some reports that Pittsburgh is ok with Dan Moore Jr at left tackle heading into 2023. They are as credible as the 'we are comfortable with Mason Rudolph at quarterback' reports back in 2022. The Steelers might be stuck with Moore, so they are being very careful after the Rudolph debacle last season.
Before the NFL combine Broderick Jones fell to the Steelers at pick 17, but unfortunately, they held the gathering in Indianapolis and the secret is out. Jones is the best pure left tackle in this draft, and he is not going to fall to 17. The only way that the Steelers can get Jones, Paris Johnson Jr, or Peter Skoronski is to trade up. A trade is a great idea and Khan has been especially aggressive in pulling them off since he took over last season.
Mark J. Rebilas / USA TODAY Sports
Top left tackles prospect and former Georgia offensive lineman, Broderick Jones.
Is trading valuable draft capital for an unproven rookie really the best option for the Steelers? Jones is probably worth a package of picks and or players, but Skoronski is likely to become an All-Pro guard, not a tackle and Johnson was good but not great at Ohio State. There is another option the Steelers could pursue and that is to trade for a young veteran on a team mired in a rebuild that is not going anywhere in 2023 and probably 2024.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers went all in with Tom Brady to get a Super Bowl Championship. They got it but have slid steadily downhill the last two seasons and have virtually no cap flexibility. Brady has been replaced with a combination of Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask. Tampa Bay is headed for the basement of the very weak NFC South and a full-blown rebuild. The pirate ship is sinking but it is not without treasure.
Iowa Athletics
Potential trade target former Iowa Hawkeye Tristan Wirfs
Tristan Wirfs might be the best right tackle in the NFL. He has been selected to consecutive Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams and Tampa has asked him to switch to left tackle during the offseason. Left tackles make a lot more money and the 24-year-old knows it. If an All-Pro caliber right tackle is planning on switching, the only downside is that if it doesn’t work out, he goes back to being an All-Pro right tackle. Tampa Bay can’t currently afford its fifth-year option without tearing down multiple positions on Wirfs so it could be a win-win scenario.
Wirfs has an extremely affordable contract in 2023 and his fifth-year option would be $18,244,000 according to Spotrac for 2024. Virtually every tackle outside of the big three that would be available to the Steelers in the top 49 slots would either be a left tackle they had converted from a right tackle or a huge reach in the top 49 picks. Blake Freeland at pick 80 is intriguing but may not last that long.
Steelers Make It Too Good To Refuse
If the Steelers dangled this season’s first-round draft pick and next year's first-round pick it might be more than Tampa Bay can resist. They will need a quarterback at some point but pick 17 and 19 this season paired with two first-round picks next season for a salary cap-strapped team might be an offer they cannot refuse.
The Steelers are notoriously stingy with draft picks in trades, but Wirfs is a safe and solid bet that could pay off big. He either converts to the franchise left tackle or goes back to being the best right tackle in football if it does not work out. A 24-year-old All-Pro is the type of anchor that could change the offense for a decade.
What do you think Steeler Nation? Is it worth a phone call to see if Tampa Bay is willing to stock up on draft picks? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
#SteelerNation
