Here is the first in a position-by-position series on the Steelers at the conclusion of the 2023 season as they head into the start of the NFL free agent period, which opens March 13.
Offensive linemen (9): Dan Moore Jr., Isaac Seumalo, Mason Cole, James Daniels, Broderick Jones, Chuks Okorafor, Nate Herbig, Spencer Anderson, Dylan Cook
Unlike 2022, when the starting offensive line started all 17 games together intact and missed very little time, the 2023 offensive line had some injuries with which to deal.
Left tackle Dan Moore Jr. missed one game. Right guard James Daniels missed two games because of injuries. Left guard Isaac Seumalo, one of the team’s big offseason free agent additions, didn’t miss any starts, but was slowed, at times, by a shoulder issue.
Still, center Mason Cole played 100 percent of the team’s offensive snaps in 2023. Seumalo played 97.1 percent. Moore was on the field for nearly 90 percent of the offensive snaps, while Daniels was at 88.2 percent.
Overall, that wasn’t bad.
And considering the Steelers added plenty of depth in the offseason, signing Seumalo and Nate Herbig in free agency and moving up in the first round of the draft to select tackle Broderick Jones, they had planned ahead. They knew they couldn’t tempt fate two years in a row by staying ridiculously healthy up front.
Chuks Okorafor began the season at right tackle, but when Jones performed well in a Week 5 win over the Ravens in place of an injured Moore, it was only a matter of time before Jones moved into the starting lineup on a permanent basis, something that happened a few weeks later.
The surprise was that Jones did so at right tackle instead of left, where he had largely worked throughout training camp.
But his addition to the starting lineup seemed to kick-start the running game. With two very good run-blocking offensive tackles – Moore and Jones – the Steelers averaged 141.6 rushing yards per game…
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