The Steelers’ new OC emphasizes adding wrinkles to their offense
The Pittsburgh Steelers added four players to their offense in the 2024 NFL Draft, including three offensive linemen to ensure that their new quarterbacks will be protected and that the run game can be successful. The Steelers took Washington offensive tackle Troy Fautanu in the first round, and followed that up by taking West Virginia center Zach Frazier and South Dakota State guard Mason McCormick in the second and fourth rounds, respectively.
New offensive coordinator Arthur Smith was asked about the possibility of introducing more gap-based runs into his usual zone-based run game, considering that the Steelers now have several lineman who are great in space when pulling.
“When those guys are really comfortable playing in space, there’s certain things [we] want to add,” Smith said. “You don’t want to be stale. We’re not just going to reprint a playbook from the year before or four years ago. Like I said, there’s a certain intent we want, but we want to evolve, too and play to the strengths [of the players]. We’re not going to get stale. There are going to be schemes you add every year, wrinkles. We’re going to have our core philosophy, but you have to stay on top of that.”
I asked Arthur Smith about the Steelers OL now having players that are great as pullers and in space and where that signals the run game is going. pic.twitter.com/kGfDrddwvZ
— Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) April 27, 2024
One of the biggest complaints about the Matt Canada offense was how predictable it was, and how it lacked innovation and creativity. If there is one thing you can say about the Arthur Smith offense it’s that he’s willing to try new things, which will certainly be a refreshing change from what the Steelers have had in recent years.
If you want a closer, more in-depth look at what the Steelers’ offense will look like under Smith’s guidance, I broke down what to expect in both the run and passing games, respectively.