PFF: Steelers' Offensive Line Among Top 10 in NFL
The Steelers' offensive line lost a member to retirement when Ramon Foster hung up his cleats for the last time in 2019. The dominant four (looking prior to Matt Feiler) of Alejandro Villanueva, Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro, and Foster have guided 1,000 yard rushers, career-high passing numbers and several Pro Bowls.
Coming off a season with minimum offensive positives, they still managed to keep expectations high for the upcoming year. In Pro Football Focus' offensive line rankings, the Steelers earned the ninth-overall spot on the list of 32.
"Pittsburgh has had one of the better offensive lines in recent years, finishing ninth in our final rankings last season," PFF's Steve Palazzolo wrote.
The Steelers' starting five provides enough confidence from past seasons to give hope for a brighter 2020. Offseason signing, Stefen Wisniewski replaces Foster, and even rookie guard, Kevin Dotson, brings high expectations to the group.
"Left tackle Alejandro Villanueva has developed into one of the league's most dependable starters, posting four straight years of 74.0-plus grades and ranking 21st among tackles last season ... At right tackle, Matt Feiler is another unexpected success story, as he came out of small-school Bloomsburg and didn’t become a starter until 2018. His 75.9 overall grade last year ranked 17th among tackles, including an 80.7 pass-blocking grade that ranked 14th.
On the inside, right guard David DeCastro has seen his run-blocking grades take a hit over the past two years. But he remains one of the better pass protectors in the league, with his 71.0 grade last season ranking 17th overall among guards. Ramon Foster — last year’s left guard — retired, prompting Pittsburgh to sign Stefen Wisniewski to take his place. Wisniewski is on his fifth NFL team, but he has seven years with 70.0-plus grades, including a 70.9 mark for the Chiefs on 416 snaps last season. He should be a viable replacement, but keep an eye on fourth-round rookie Kevin Dotson — a powerful run blocker who finished with the top grade (92.1) among draft-class guards last season."
After a year they'd all be willing to forget, there's enough to support optimism for the road ahead. Adding a returning Ben Roethlisberger and new weapons in both the passing and running game, it looks to be a good year for the Steelers' offensive line.
"The Steelers have epitomized an offensive line that has few stars but also few weaknesses, and they should be in the top-10 discussion once again in 2020," Palazzolo wrote.
Noah Strackbein is a Senior Writer with AllSteelers. Follow Noah on Twitter @NoahStrack, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.
