Steelers’ Mike Tomlin Confident In Young Offensive Line: “Those Young Guys Are Representing Themselves Well”

The Pittsburgh Steelers have suffered some injuries on the offensive line during the 2024 season. It started with James Daniels and Troy Fautanu suffering season-ending injuries. Fauntanu was drafted with the 20th pick overall in the 2024 NFL Draft and had just begun to showcase what he could do before injuring his knee and having surgery that ended his young season. Zach Frazier is also out currently and is one of the best rookies on the Steelers' roster. However, guys have been filling in quite well.

During Head Coach Mike Tomlin's weekly The Mike Tomlin Show on the Steelers' YouTube channel, he gave high praise to Ryan McCollum and Mason McCormick on how they've represented themselves well.

"Those young guys are representing themselves well, but they better not pat themselves on the back too long because the next challenge is coming in the form of the New York Football Giants and Dexter Lawrence," Tomlin said.

Dexter Lawrence has shown he's a huge threat for the New York Giants. Lawrence leads the league in sacks with nine. Tomlin said McCollum did well against New York Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and will have to continue to play his best against Lawrence. Tomlin did note that McCollum can't do everything himself and will schematically need help to make sure Lawrence doesn't get to Russell Wilson.

A huge key to the Steelers winning Monday night is minimizing Lawrence's impact. Whether it's double teaming him or trusting McCollum on some plays, he's going to be the main focus when it comes to the Giants' defense. It'll also be interesting to see how Wilson will handle him if Lawrence gets past the offensive line. Wilson is older and can't move as well anymore so it's hard to tell if he'll be able to get away from the 17th overall pick from the 2019 NFL Draft.

McCormick also received positive words from Tomlin. McCormick started his first game against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 4 and has only improved since then. Tomlin always preaches how it's next man up if someone goes down and McCormick has proven himself well in his rookie season.

“[McCormick] plays with passion. He’s a finisher. That was probably the distinguishing trait on the South Dakota State tape and that generally travels when you play with high energy when you’re a finisher. That never leaves you," Tomlin said.

With new additions to the Steelers' offensive line this offseason and young guys still adjusting, fans wondered how they would work together to start the season off. Injuries halted the progression of the offensive line, but over the past few weeks they have looked a lot better. The offensive line has let up 15 sacks this season through seven weeks.

Steelers' Offensive Line Has Improved The Running Game

Najee Harris has had two straight weeks rushing for over 100 yards. Harris' fifth-year option was declined during the offseason as his role in the new offense under Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith was to be determined. Harris wasn't helping his case during the first few weeks, but once Week 6 rolled around, he finally broke 100 yards against the Las Vegas Raiders. He also scored his first touchdown and mirrored his stats the following week against the Jets.

Some of Harris' low numbers could be blamed on the injured and young offensive line, but there is clearly more holes opening up for Harris recently. Harris has been able to hit the gaps and has broken a few runs for over 30 yards. If you give Harris the opportunity for a good run, he'll do that and some as his toughness pushes him for a few more yards. If the offensive line stays healthy and Frazier comes back after the Steelers' Week 9 bye week, this offense could seriously be legit.

Do you think the Steelers' offensive line has proven itself despite its injuries? Let us know in the comments below!

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