Through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first two preseason games, there have been some positive developments. Rookie first-round pick Derrick Harmon looks as advertised, especially coming out of the second preseason matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while rookie third-round running back Kaleb Johnson showed flashes of his promise moving forward.
Even running back Lew Nichols has opened some eyes in the preseason, as have the likes of wide receiver Brandon Johnson and UDFAs Roc Taylor, Max Hurleman and Ke’Shawn Williams, creating a deep position for the Black and Gold.
But where there are some things to be excited about, there are also some concerns about the Steelers. One of those centers on the offensive line. For longtime Steelers reporter Mark Kaboly, the fact that the starting offensive line featuring Broderick Jones, Zach Frazier, Mason McCormick and Troy Fautanu has played just 25 snaps in the preseason is chief among the concerns.
Appearing on the No. 1 Cochran Sports Showdown Sunday night on KDKA, Kaboly raised concerns that the Steelers simply aren’t giving the starting offensive line much of a runway in preseason to jell and prepare for the regular season.
“There’s a lack of actual playing time of the offensive line. That’s one position you need the cohesion at,” Kaboly said, according to video via the CBS Pittsburgh YouTube page. “That’s one position where you could see in the preseason they go into second and third quarters, depending on what team we’re talking. Two games now, a total of 25 snaps between all five of them, and obviously [Isaac] Seumalo’s out. I think you need much more than that.
“You didn’t have Kaleb Johnson running at all behind the ones [Saturday]. I understand why everybody else is sitting out some of the big-time guys, but I would like to see more work for that offensive line just to get more jell going into that first game.”
The starting offensive linemen played 15 snaps in the preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars but then just 10 snaps against the Buccaneers Saturday night. Of course, Pittsburgh did have a joint practice with Tampa Bay on Thursday, which likely gave the starting unit plenty of reps.
But there’s nothing like playing in-stadium, working together as a unit, and communicating in an environment like that. Twenty-five snaps are nothing to truly scoff at when it comes to the preseason, but there’s a lot riding on the young offensive linemen, so they need more playing time.
It doesn’t seem like they’re going to get it though, which creates plenty of challenges entering Week 1 on the road against a a terrific New York Jets defensive front. It’s especially concerning for the pair of bookend tackles in Jones and Fautanu.
Jones made the move to left tackle this offseason and has seemingly settled in nicely, while Fautanu is coming off a rookie season in which he played just 55 snaps due to injury and is back at right tackle. Though he had a strong training camp, he still needs game reps before the start of the regular season.
Same for Jones, who has looked solid in recent weeks but could still use snaps to refine some things.
It’s been curious to see how the Steelers have handled this so far. We’ll see if the first-team offensive linemen suit up Thursday night against Carolina, and if they do how long they play. It’s a gamble the Steelers are seemingly taking up front.
