By the midway point of the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line was openly criticized as one of the worst in the NFL. But during the bye week this group seemed to come together and ended up finishing very strong. ESPN put out its advanced stats rankings and surprisingly, two Steelers offensive linemen landed on the season Top 10 at their positions for pass block win rate.
Guard James Daniels checked in at No. 7 with a 95 percent win rate and center Mason Cole checked in at No. 10 with a 95 percent win rate. Pittsburgh signed Daniels and Cole in the offseason to help bolster a struggling unit and they each delivered on that. Daniels was the best offensive lineman on the team across the board for much of the season.
By comparison, no Steelers landed in the Top 10 at any position for run block win rate. This is somewhat surprising when you consider how strong the run game was at the end of the season but you just have to chalk it up to the shaky start by this group. In addition, neither of the Steelers starting offensive tackles, Dan Moore Jr. and Chuks Okorafor were in the Top 10 in either run or pass block win rather.
The Steelers coaches will need to evaluate the offensive line this offseason to determine which positions could benefit from an upgrade for the upcoming season.
