Getty The Bleacher Report NFL staff is encouraging head coach Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers to target offensive lineman La'el Collins in free agency.
There are plenty of aspects of the Pittsburgh Steelers offense that could be blamed for the unit’s slow start to the 2023 season. That includes coaches and players alike.
But the Bleacher Report NFL staff argued the crux of Pittsburgh’s offensive problem is along the offensive line. With that in mind, the BR staff called for the Steelers to target veteran offensive lineman La’el Collins in free agency.
“The root of the problem still lies with the offensive line, and signing La’el Collins so the Steelers have him when he gets healthy to replace Chukwuma Okorafor could jump-start the offensive line,” wrote the BR staff.
Collins tore his left ACL and MCL in December 2022. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on September 27 that the veteran lineman has been medically cleared to return to the field.
What La’el Collins Could Bring to the Steelers
Fowler reported that “about a dozen or so teams” placed an inquiry for Collins. It’s not too difficult to see why.
Collins has been a reliable starter along the offensive line for many years. He began his career with the Dallas Cowboys as a left guard but eventually switched to right tackle.
He started 71 games for the Cowboys from 2015-21. Last season, he started 15 contests for the Cincinnati Bengals before suffering his injury.
Although he’s never made the Pro Bowl, Collins has often fared very well in the player grades at Pro Football Focus. PFF ranked Collins as fifth best among offensive tackles who played at least 50% of his team’s offensive snaps in 2019.
In the same category of players, PFF rated Collins at No. 13 in 2021.
Last season, he didn’t earn as strong of an overall PFF grade because of poor pass protection. But he still did well in run blocking according to PFF.
How Collins Potentially Fits With the Steelers
Based on how he performed in pass blocking last year, adding Collins won’t help Pittsburgh’s biggest weakness. The Steelers will enter Week 5 with the worst pass protection grade from PFF.
However, Collins has remained a well-above average run blocker, which could be a useful asset for the Steelers.
Both of Pittsburgh’s starting offensive tackles have struggled significantly early this season. At right tackle, Chukwuma Okorafor is ranked outside of PFF’s top 40 offensive tackles in both run blocking and pass protection.
Left tackle Dan Moore Jr. has been even worse based on the PFF grades, but the Steelers could replace him with first-round rookie Broderick Jones. The rookie will start against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5 because Moore is dealing with a knee injury.
The Steelers could then replace Okorafor with Collins.
Pittsburgh’s offense could use more explosive plays in the passing attack, but if the arrival of Collins helps the ground game, that would significant. When the Steelers won seven of their last nine games last season, they averaged 146 rushing yards per game.
This season, the Steelers are averaging under 79 rushing yards per contest.
It’s unclear, though, if Pittsburgh has any interest in Collins. Fowler didn’t name any of the 12 teams that he said inquired about the 30-year-old.