Steelers' Offseason Moves Leave Mixed Signals for Offense
There are a lot of questions surrounding the Steelers offseason entering the 2020 season, and rightfully so. The biggest, of course, is how Ben Roethlisberger will perform following his elbow surgery.
Then, there's the running back position, with the health of James Conner and the approach to a running back by committee being two question marks there. Finally, there's the offensive line. Ramon Foster needs to be replaced, and there will likely be guys shuffled around to do so effectively.
Combining all of these question marks leads to one big question entering the season. What will the Steelers' identity be on offense?
With a great defense once again, Roethlisberger could tune down the gunslinging he had to do in previous years when the team was in shoot outs every week. Or, the combination of a young and talented wide receiver group with a veteran quarterback could lead to Roethlisberger continuing to air it out the way he has in recent years.
The moves the team has made in the offseason really don't give any answers regarding what the offense will look like this year. Some moves made you think, "They must be getting back to running the ball this year," while others would lead you to believe exactly the opposite.
When the team signed Derek Watt, it was a sign that they will look to run the ball more in 2020, or at least more effectively. The team hasn't run the ball successfully at all in recent years. With Roosevelt Nix spending most of last year hurt, there was no fullback to help bolster the running game. Insert Watt. Some would argue that Watt was signed predominantly as a special teams player, with the main goal of replacing Tyler Matakevich as the team's top special teamer. But they paid Watt over $3 million per year, so that sounds like he will have some role on offense. And his presence should definitely help the production in the run game.
Elsewhere, some of the team's draft picks seem like they align with a run-heavy game plan in 2020 and beyond. The team used their two fourth-round picks on Anthony McFarland and Kevin Dotson. McFarland, a running back, was a surprising pick. The team already had three or four running backs in their committee, so it seemed odd not to fill a different need with the pick. But the move makes sense if they will be looking to run the ball more in 2020.
McFarland is a home run threat with big-play potential, something that was lacking by the rest of the players in the running back room. So his new skillset will be a welcomed addition.
Dotson, a guard from Louisiana-Lafayette, has sky-high potential. He is solid all around, but his best work definitely came in the run game in college. Dotson meets the Steelers' typical expectations of a guard- a bruiser with the agility to pull and punish defenders downfield. While he has an outside chance of replacing Foster as the starting left guard, Dotson will likely be a rotational lineman in his first season. Either way, using a fourth-round pick on a player like Dotson suggests the team will be looking to improve their rushing attack in the near future.
Now, onto the two moves that suggest the team is looking to continue to air it out the way they did in previous years.
The first of these moves came when they signed Eric Ebron in the offseason. Ebron has a lot of potential to come in and boost the passing attack in two areas: across the middle and in the red zone. Roethlisberger loves to throw across the middle of the field, and Ebron has the athleticism to be a threat down the seam. Along with that, Ebron is a huge threat in the red zone. Those skills will be gladly welcomed to the team who finished first in red zone efficiency in 2018, but last in the same category in 2019. As long as he is healthy, Ebron will be an essential piece to the Steelers offense in 2020.
The other major move the Steelers made to improve their air attack was using their first pack in the draft on Chase Claypool. Like Ebron, Claypool will likely do his best work in the red zone as a rookie. He'll enter the season as the team's fourth wide receiver. Their willingness to draft a fourth wide receiver so early in the draft is a sign that they're committed to the passing game in 2020 and beyond. They could've taken a running back, safety, or linebacker, but went with Claypool instead.
The good news with Claypool is that even if he's not a huge contributor as a receiver in 2020, he'll likely be one of the team's top special teams players. That doesn't mean he won't do much as a receiver, though, because Roethlisberger loves big, athletic receivers like Claypool. So, the potential for a strong rookie season is there.
As you can see, it's hard to say which part of the offense the team focused on in the 2020 offseason. This isn't a bad thing, though. They seemed to make their moves with the general goal of making small upgrades to the entire offense.
Based on last year's offensive performance, this was the right way to go. Having Roethlisberger back will already bolster the offense. Throw in some new toys for him to play with, and it's almost a guarantee that the offense will improve from last year. With the Steelers elite defense, the offense doesn't have to be great. They just have to be good enough. If the offense is great, however, we will be talking about the Steelers as legitimate Super Bowl contenders.
Connor Deitrich is a Contributor with AllSteelers. Follow Connor on Twitter @CDeitrich22, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.
