For Steelers' Andy Weidl, Matt Canada's "Experiment" Is Part Of New 2023 Identity: "We Want To Be Big"

When the Pittsburgh Steelers promoted General Manager Omar Khan last year, the turning of the tide was evident within the organization. With Khan, the Steelers added Andy Weidl to the general management team as Assistant General Manager. Weidl played a large part of constructing a large, physical, successful roster with the Philadelphia Eagles and brought that same mindset to the western side of Pennsylvania. Once the league’s calendar flipped to 2023, the duo of Khan and Weidl were active and tactical in the early crafting of the roster. With the first preseason game of the season looming, we’ve began to see the rippling effects of Weidl’s efforts.

Weidl’s objective of bulking up in the trenches was glaring early in the offseason. Through his time in Philadelphia, he helped build one of the best offensive lines in football and mimicked that early on. He took what was a vastly underrated group from a year ago with the Steelers offensive line and added to it in the way of Isaac Seumalu, Nate Herbig, and first-round pick Broderick Jones. In addition, the 2023 third-round draft pick of 6’7”, 265-pound tight end Darnell Washington took Weidl’s vision to an entirely different level.

As the team prepares for their first preseason game of the season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Weidl spent some time with the media. With several practice sessions in the books and experimenting different personnel groups in different situations, Weidl divulged into his mindset as the process of cuts and fine-tuning the depth chart begins.

“It’s about competition. Competition brings out the best and it causes the cream to rise to the top. We’re seeing it right now. Guys are battling and it’s a good thing. It’s a healthy competition. These guys are helping each other out. The young guys, the old guys are helping out the young guys and they’re working together. But it’ll work itself out. We have our first test Friday night, we’ll see how these guys do.”

One of the most intriguing position battles is the competition for the starting left tackle spot. The job has been held by Dan Moore Jr. for the last two seasons, but with the team trading up for Jones, that is where the intrigue began. Weidl’s track record shows he knows what it takes to create an effective offensive line, and he likes what he sees out of the rookie so far.

“We know Broderick and his physical attribute he has. We saw that in the testing we saw on tape and I think, the thing is, is he’s coming out every day and he’s working. He’s working to get better and he’s seeking the knowledge, he’s receptive to it, you see him working with Dan Moore every day just learning and he’s growing,” Weidl explained. “It’s a natural progression, and we’re watching him do it right now in front of our eyes. So he’s an arrow-up guy and we’re excited for where he’s heading.”

Weidl’s goal of creating a well-rounded, effective offensive line room is already taking significant leaps forward. His goal was to bring in competition for guys to be comfortable being uncomfortable, yet providing them with resources to elevate their game. With there being synchronized positional battles across the line in camp, there tends to be difficult areas of guys wanting to help each other out, while maintaining an upper hand for their employment in the fall. Weidl gushed over what he is seeing happen in the Steelers offensive line room, especially with Moore Jr. handling his own business.

“Dan is a pro. He’s a great guy. We’re lucky we have him, we’re fortunate we have him, we’re glad we have him. You watch him out there, his willingness to share what he’s learned so far in the league with Broderick is tremendous. And I think speaks for the offensive line room. We see those guys working with each other every day, afterwards on the field, whether it's Dan working with Broderick, you see Isaac working with the guards, everyone is just trying to get better and helping each other out and that speaks for the chemistry of that room.”

For fans who attended the Steelers’ annual Friday Night Lights practice session, they were able to see some interesting progressions on offense. While George Pickens has rightfully earned a lot of the hype and excitement, there are other details that must be worked out on the depth chart. One area in particular is the fullback position.

The Steelers had signed undrafted rookie Monte Pottebaum after the draft concluded, but he decided to retire early after his first training camp experience. Therefore, his omission has opened the door for other candidates; one of which being Kendrick Green. Although he was drafted as an interior offensive lineman, Green has seen action at the fullback position and showed some promise as a potential change of position.

“This is the time of year to experiment. You’re seeing guys line up at different positions and we’re just trying to find out about players and their skillsets. We’re getting creative with Kendrick and his willingness has been fun to watch and work at fullback, he’s done some good things out there. I think everyone saw Friday night some of the blocks and catches he had. So, it's just Coach [Matt] Canada getting creative and finding roles for guys and the versatility some players have.”

If we think back to Weidl’s vision of developing a physically large, imposing, physical reputation, everything we’ve seen in camp as supported that notion. From the left tackle position battle to injecting strong veteran savvy within the interior of the offensive line, only to now deploy a 315-pound fullback into the mix, the clues are glaring. In fact, Weidl isn’t hiding what their intentions are in 2023.

“We want to be a physical team. We believe in the line of scrimmage, offensive line and defensive line, front seven. Iron sharpens iron, as Coach says, and the competition we have up there with the big guys, it's good. It’s a good thing and they’re going out there, they’re making each other better, so we’ll continue to see these guys compete. We want to be big, we want to be physical, and that’s what we’re going to continue to do.”

Earlier in the offseason, Weidl’s vision was just that; a vision. As we rounded the corner from the draft to minicamp, and now deeper into training camp, that vision has blossomed into reality. In collaborating with Khan, the general management duo has created a different type of competition within camp that the Steelers haven’t seen in years. With Canada now acquiring free reign of experimenting within the offense, that could bring for some different names in different spaces on the final depth chart.

That competition, when combined with the versatility that Weidl and company actively search for, is breeding a whole new looking offense. Green taking snaps as a fullback may have been a fun thing to watch, but that is simply Weidl’s tenacious mindset under a microscope. There may not be a clearer indication of wanting to get bigger than to feature a fullback that clocks in at over 300 pounds. We still have a long way to go before the first week of the regular season, but so far, Weidl’s and Khan’s intentions have been unapologetically imposing for the rest of the AFC North division.

What do you think of Weidl’s vision to get more physical? Do you like Green lining up at fullback? Let us know in the comments below!

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