The success of Kevin Dotson demonstrates that the Steelers offensive line has more than just a talent shortage.
General manager Omar Khan strengthened the Pittsburgh Steelers’ interior offensive line in the 2023 offseason by bringing in Isaac Seumalo and Nate Herbig, two players with whom he had previously worked in Philadelphia. Pittsburgh probably gained a ton of depth at guard as a result of these additions.
Seumalo and James Daniels’ contracts from the previous two offseasons made it obvious that they would start at guard, with Herbig serving as the primary interior backup. We believed that Kevin Dotson was no longer needed because of this.
Two weeks prior to the season’s opening, on August 27, the Steelers traded Dotson to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for a Day 3 pick-swap that would be used in the next two rounds. This felt like a no-brainer choice for Khan, a player we never anticipated would see the field (barring injuries). Fans, though, are beginning to retract a little.
An event occurred that we never would have predicted. All of a sudden, Kevin Dotson is becoming a really good football player.
Actually, he’s been better than good. According to Pro Football Focus, Dotson is currently the best offensive guard in the entire National Football League, with an overall grade of 85.3 for the current season. This grade exceeds all other grades by about 20 points.
The Steelers’ strategy is devaluing their offensive line talent.
At the age of 27, is Kevin Dotson suddenly one of the league’s greatest guards in his fourth season? Or did he end himself in a far better circumstance with a great system under the direction of one of the league’s top offensive minds, head coach Sean McVay? Which choice appears more plausible?
This seems to imply that Pittsburgh’s scheme and coaching are lacking, which is something the majority of us fans already understood. Nor is Dotdon’s incredible play-related surge the only proof of this.
Before injuries ended his season in 2021, Isaac Seumalo was running an even faster pace as the 10th-best offensive guard in the NFL last season. Nevertheless, for some reason, he now appears to be little more than a mediocre starter after moving to Pittsburgh. Seumalo will turn thirty at the end of the month, but as an offensive lineman, he ought to be at the top of his game
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This year, James Daniels is likewise lackluster. After turning 26 lately, the experienced guard is having his worst NFL season. He played for a terrible Chicago Bears team all four years, and he graded out noticeably better each time than he does now.
Did these talented football players suddenly deteriorate, or is the plan mostly to blame? Brian Baldinger and other offensive line experts have already criticized the Steelers for some of their puzzling offensive line play. Pittsburgh, for example, uses positioning and reach blocking at the goal line rather than power running blocking.
OL coach Pat Meyer bears a good deal of the burden, for sure. Although we are aware that the offensive line still has shortcomings, there is currently too much information to conclude that a lack of skill is the only issue. Steelers supporters are starting to realize how fortunate we were to have Mike Munchak as our offensive line coach.
While I’m thrilled for Kevin Dotson that everything is going so well, I’m also annoyed with the Pittsburgh Steelers because, in spite of all of their summer expenditures, they are having such difficulty up the offensive line. Dotson’s unexpected success is another evidence that Pittsburgh’s offensive line scheme and coaching are flawed.
