Despite having young promising talent, analysts are very skeptical of the Pittsburgh Steelers ' offensive line heading into the 2026 season. The staff at Sharp Football ranked the Steelers as the 21st-best offensive line in the NFL.
"Pittsburgh's offensive line might have been our most polarizing unit, with votes ranging from sixth to 28th. Some of the variation likely stems from the difficulty in assessing the unit's pass protection ability due to Rodgers' tendency to get rid of the ball so quickly," Sharp Football wrote. "The Steelers' 25% pressure rate allowed led the league, but Rodgers also got rid of the ball in under 2.0 seconds on a league-high 38% of his dropbacks."
Mina Kimes of ESPN also recently questioned how good the Steelers' offensive line will be.
"To me, the biggest question I have is about the offensive line. And not in pass protection, because again, Rodgers throws the ball so quickly," Kimes said on ESPN NFL Live . "But really, run blocking. Fautanu is switching over to play left tackle. They drafted a new right tackle, we'll see if he plays; Max Iheanachor. I think this interior of the offensive line is really good. But those tackle positions are ones that I'm watching. Because you've got some change there in Pittsburgh."
The Steelers have a potential All-Pro center in Zach Frazier and two young rising offensive lineman in guard Mason McCormick and tackle Troy Fautanu . McCormick and Fautanu are both expected to move to the left side this season, so the right side still needs to be ironed out. Guard Spencer Anderson and tackle Dylan Cook are the favorites to land starting roles on the right side. Both played well in 2025. First-round pick Max Iheanachor is also in the mix to be a starter.
For sure, the Steelers offensive line is young and inexperienced, but this is a unit that could surprise people in 2026. Especially under veteran offensive line coach James Campen.
Pittsburgh Steelers guard Mason McCormick at practice on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
The Steelers tweaked their alignment on the offensive line at OTAs , moving Fautanu and McCormick to the left side.
Fautanu played left tackle at Washington, so it's not a major adjustment.
"I saw it when he was in college, when he was at left tackle in college," Campen said. "The thing with him is he just naturally goes over and starts using his left sets and those kinda things. Sometimes as coaches, we take that for granted. And I think, at times, we just say, 'Well, just go over there and put your left hand down.' Well, try writing left-handed if you're right-handed. It's not as easy as you think. And so the fact that he's able to do that, and we're just seeing how it goes over there for right now, but that is a big plus."
McCormick also has experience of playing on the left side in college at South Dakota State.
"At first when we were talking about it, Mason has probably close to 2,800, 3,000 reps at left guard in college, so his transition is pretty easy," Campen said. "And he's been playing in consecutive games, where Troy had the hiccup there when he was injured."
From a communication standpoint, keeping McCormick and Fautanu on the same side is vital.
"It was a thought, like, 'Oh, OK, that's fine, too'" Campen said of keeping McCormick and Fautanu beside one another. "Because communication and those things are very important, but I can tell you, when you go to the left side or right side, the communication … now they're working inside out, because now (Fautanu's) on his left. So it is different."
Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy really values position flexibility.
Broderick Jones is dealing with a neck injury and his status for the 2026 season is unclear. Isaac Seumalo also left for Arizona in free agency.
"I really just wanted to get that left side set," McCarthy said at OTAs. "Those guys were really excited about it."
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Is the Steelers' Offensive Line Being Overlooked?
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