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The Pittsburgh Steelers have settled on an answer to one of their biggest decisions of the offseason.
They are expected to hire former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith as their next offensive coordinator according to Tom Pelissero.
The move was a bit of a surprise after Art Rooney II suggested the team would hire an OC that could help Kenny Pickett develop.
Smith doesn’t exactly fit that description and one of the team’s former players believes he knows the reason why.
Former Steelers offensive lineman Trai Essex shared his thoughts about the hire on social media.
In a post on Twitter, Essex shared his belief that the hire means that the Steelers see Pickett’s limitations and want to emphasize the run game.
“This hire just tells me they see Kenny’s limitations and want to emphasize the run game and take as much as they can off the QBs plate. Hoping to recreate what was in Tennessee from a few years ago. The problem with that is, despite a few playoff wins, there was a hard ceiling with those teams in today’s NFL.”
What Essex Thinks it Could Mean for the Rest of the Offseason
Now that the hire has been made, it should make it easier to figure out how the Steelers will handle the rest of their offseason.
The move likely means they aren’t looking at a QB in the draft, as Smith probably isn’t the person you want developing a rookie QB.
That narrows the options a bit as the Steelers only have a few other positions that are a true weakness.
Essex believes the Steelers will emphasize an O-line upgrade in the draft and free agency with an early selection at center and a top free agent at tackle.
In a later tweet, he said, “Because of this hire, they will emphasize improvement on the OL thru the draft & free agency. Center in the 1st or 2nd round [and one of] the top tackles in free agency.”
It’s an approach that would make a lot of sense for a team that will need to be able to win in the trenches consistently for their offense to be successful.
After addressing the offensive line, they’ll also need to find a corner back and some help at linebacker to round out the roster as they’ll need to keep games low scoring if their run-first approach is going to win games.
Could Steelers Add Smith’s Old QB?
Essex also brought up one other interesting possibility. In a final post about Smith being hired, Essex revealed that he believes that the team will bring in another veteran QB and that he wouldn’t be surprised if that QB is Ryan Tannehill.
“If you don’t think this hire was made with a wide eyed and all encompassing analysis of what Kenny has been and what they think he can become, I don’t know what to tell you. They are going to give him every opportunity to win the job, but after 25 games, they understand his skill set. Will it mesh with Smith’s offense? We shall see. But they will bring in another vet. Wouldn’t be surprised if it was Tannenhill.”
The team is going to need to sign a quarterback to compete with Pickett and back him up during the 2024 season.
That could still be Mason Rudolph, but if Rudolph isn’t the answer, then Tannehill becomes an interesting option.
He’s a veteran that had the best years of his career with Smith. He’d already be familiar with the offense.
He didn’t look very good for the Titans in 2023, but also played behind a bad offensive line and had limited options in the passing game.
If the Steelers can get him cheaply, he’s an option that makes some sense as a backup for Pickett in an offense where he wouldn’t be asked to do a ton if called upon.
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