Steelers Happy With OL? Orlando Brown Interest, Actions Say Otherwise
Orlando Brown signed a mega-deal with the Cincinnati Bengals last night after he and the Kansas City Chiefs appeared to sever contract talks in the days prior. However, it was not just the Bengals who were in pursuit of Brown, but the Steelers and the Jets as well according to ESPN’s https://twitter.com/JFowlerESPN/status/1636199079284822016?s=20″>Jeremy
Fowler.
However, the interest is surprising. First, Pittsburgh made the jump to go out and snag Nate Herbig, and for his salary, it seems he might not just be a swing interior man. Instead, Herbig has a realistic shot to start at left guard and push Kevin Dotson for his starting position.
At the NFL Combine, general manager Omar Khan dealt a decisive blow to the idea that the Steelers were not happy with their offensive line. Or did he? If Khan wanted to relay that to the public through the press conference, then, bravo, he did just that. Just check out these comments and how encouraged he was by the offensive line.
“Like I mentioned earlier, you always try to improve every positional room when you can,” Khan said. “Specifically, to our offensive line group, I said it, it was really encouraging to see those guys grow and come together and just become better as the season went on.”
That feels like a nudge and wink from Khan that the Steelers might just stand pat with their starting five. But then the Herbig move came. And right after that, so did the Orlando Brown interest. What game is Khan playing here? The game is likely that the Steelers are interested in upgrading their offensive line and are looking for some serious upgrades this offseason. And one comment strikes me as indicative of that.
“You guys look at the Steeler history, that’s always been a big part of the job,” Khan said. “Our winning teams have always been the O-line, and the D-line, and the big guys. I can’t speak for Philadelphia, but I think that was a big part of theirs also.”
Something about the veiled reasoning there states that the trenches are extremely important to the Steelers. And listen, Moore and Dotson were marginal at best last year. There needs to be upgrades on the left side of the offensive line. But Herbig and Brown aren’t the only markers that the Steelers want to overhaul their offensive line.
Take a look at who they met at the NFL Combine, and it was essentially every top tackle, guard, or center at the event. Pittsburgh is making this a full-sweeping campaign. But they lack visits with the lower half of the class. The idea is simple — they need to be ready to be an instant upgrade.
Just don’t be surprised if the Steelers have one more surprise splash interest up their sleeve. But even more so, expect the Steelers to run up the pick should one of the top three offensive linemen be there for them at 17. That’s the way it’s trending at this point, and quite clearly.
Read This Next
