All off-season, we’ve heard how the kryptonite to this year's Pittsburgh Steelers team would be its offensive line. There are no starters remaining from the 2018 team. Maurkice Pouncey and David DeCastro are both gone, and this is a completely new offensive line.
Despite the turnover, the inside of the line doesn’t seem to be what people are talking about. ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, who was just on our own Steeler Nation Podcast, said in the interview his concern was the tackle spot. He believes the Steelers need to start ”capturing the line of scrimmage and impose their will” on opposing teams in the run game, and he is worried about them doing that mainly due to the pedigree of tackles of starting left and right tackles, Chukwuma Okorafor and Zach Banner.
In relation to them, Riddick stated that everyone is talking about how skill players such as Chase Claypool, Najee Harris, and Diontae Johnson are going to do and help the team, but how Banner and Okorafor do will truly determine how everything else goes -- and how far this team can go. He himself said if he were in Pittsburgh’s position on draft night, he likely would have not taken Harris (the team's first round pick), and tried to invest earlier on in the offensive line.
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Riddick has faith that the staff has hope that the players will all be better overall this year. With new offensive line coaches and an urgent emphasis on the run game, he thinks there’s a chance that will help get not just Banner and Okorafor on the same page and playing better, but the line as a whole. He believes run blocking is easier and will help them gain confidence and get better with run blocking.
In regards to the tackle spot, team general manager Kevin Colbert also spoke on the position this past week. He said that the fact that Okorafor gets to be a starting left tackle will greatly benefit him. Last season him and Banner competed for right tackle, which Banner won. A Week 1 torn ACL from Banner thrust Okorafor into the starting role for the final 15 games and lone playoff game. He performed admirably, but like the rest of the line was definitely not up to snuff for a team with championship aspirations. Colbert said that Okorafor was scouted as a left tackle, and believes he can perform better in that role. He backed this up by saying if the competition had been for left tackle instead of right, he believes the results would have been different, and that Okorafor would have been the starter.
This vote of confidence is definitely encouraging. This and the fact that both get to play a position that coaching and management believes suits the other better, is definitely a positive going into the season for the young line. Banner of course hasn’t had too much opportunity to flash what he can do at right tackle.
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At the end of the day, it’s up to these two to block the outside noise and focus on being the best versions of themselves they can be. They both have seemed up to the task, and seem to have upbeat attitudes, and even a potential chip on their shoulder approaching the opportunity ahead of them:
Keep that same energy - don’t switch up how you’ve been acting because of new developments. Do what you were doing before you found out . 🗣 pic.twitter.com/LtNaKevowr
— Chukwuma Okorafor (@Chuks__76) June 28, 2021
Keep going…
— Zach Banner (@ZBNFL) July 14, 2021
Banner’s rehab was well documented and the work he put in to be ready for camp is definitely noteworthy. He looks ready to use that dedication and put it towards punishing opposing defensive linemen this season. All of this combined seems to have both of the young tackles ready to thrive off the pressure, and do their best to dominate for Pittsburgh in 2021. Like Reddick said, this team will likely go as far as these two, and the rest of the offensive line can get them.
Are yinz confident in the Steelers starting tackles for 2021? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!
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