In two years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Andy Weidl’s commitment to rebuilding the offensive line has been as obvious as the Ohio River flowing behind Acrisure Stadium.
The Steelers have spent five draft picks, including two first-round selections, on the line since Weidl came aboard after Kevin Colbert’s retirement. The Steelers also have signed two veteran free-agent linemen who had a history with Weidl before his hiring as assistant general manager.
The fruits of Weidl’s labor will be on display Saturday night when the Steelers face the Buffalo Bills at Acrisure Stadium in their second preseason game.
Four of those five draft picks figure to receive extensive playing time. Guard Isaac Seumalo, one of the big free-agent signings in 2023, is expected to make his preseason debut.
“We’re heading in the right direction,” Weidl said Thursday at a news conference before the Steelers’ joint practice with the Bills. “We’re building it.”
An offensive lineman in college at Villanova, Weidl made the trenches one of his top priorities when he arrived at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. He had a role in the Steelers signing Seumalo and Nate Herbig, the first-team center for much of training camp. The Steelers selected tackle Broderick Jones in the first round and Spencer Anderson in the seventh.
Jones will start at right tackle against Buffalo, and Anderson started at left guard in the preseason opener against Houston.
Reinforcements came this year when the Steelers used their first-, second- and fourth-round on linemen, drafting Troy Fautanu, Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick, respectively. Fautanu was pushing for the starting right tackle job until he suffered a knee injury in the preseason opener. Frazier is expected to start Saturday because of an injury to Herbig, and McCormick consistently has received second-team reps throughout training camp.
Weidl said the mission this year was finding players to fit into new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s system that emphasizes physicality in the trenches.
“It’s guys who have explosive power, guys who have maturity to them, and they love to compete,” Weidl said. “The guys we’ve brought in, I think they have it. They have a certain mentality to them, and they provide range for our team and our offense.”
Only left tackle Dan Moore and right guard James Daniels predate Weidl’s arrival among Steelers linemen with NFL experience. And Moore’s hold on the starting job for a fourth year may last only until Fautanu is healthy enough to take over at right tackle — a move that would push Jones to the left side. Daniels is a free agent at the end of the season, which is a reason the Steelers drafted McCormick.
“They all have been as advertised,” Weidl said. “They are tough guys, they want to compete. They like to work. We see it every day out there. They want to go against the best, they want to be challenged. They’re smart, love the game. So far, we’ve been happy with where they are and where they are heading.”
Fautanu’s knee injury likely will keep him from playing again in the preseason. That has halted any reps for Jones at his natural position.
“While Troy is hurt, I really can’t worry about left tackle now,” Jones said. “I have to do my job on the right side. I’m not trying to think about that because I’m not playing it. Whenever my name is called, I may be a little rusty, but we’ll figure it out.”
Jones made the transition to right tackle in the middle of his rookie season when veteran Chuks Okorafor was benched. Most of his previous reps were on the left side with the second team.
The Steelers shifted Fautanu from the left side, the position he played at Washington, to right tackle immediately after drafting him.
“Troy is ahead of where I was at training camp last year,” Jones said. “His confidence, seeing the ins and outs of him going in and being able to dominate is crazy. He was picked in the first round for a reason.”
Frazier could use his start against Buffalo as a chance to leapfrog Herbig and into the starting lineup. He emerged as a prospect early in the 2022 college season when Weidl watched West Virginia play Pitt at Acrisure Stadium.
Weidl recalled director of college scouting Dan Colbert gushing over Frazier at halftime of that game.
“He said, ‘Did you see that center dumping guys on the ground?’” Weidl said. “He was on our radar then. We saw him last year against BYU when they had 200 yards rushing in the first half, and he was mowing guys down. He has a special football character to him.”
After spending so much draft capital on the offensive line the past two years, Weidl could turn his attention to the defensive side in upcoming seasons. The Steelers have an aging defensive front led by 35-year-old Cameron Heyward. A year after taking defensive tackle Keeanu Benton in the second round, the Steelers waited until the sixth to add Iowa’s Logan Lee this year.
“I always believe that if your line and front seven are strong, they will travel in this business,” Weidl said. “If you need to go win a game on the road late in the season or in the playoffs, they show up. You build through the lines. You want to have explosive playmakers, wide receivers, guys who can go get the ball. But you have to be strong up front. You have to be strong and impose your will on teams on both lines of scrimmage.”
Joe Rutter is a TribLive reporter who has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers since the 2016 season. A graduate of Greensburg Salem High School and Point Park, he is in his fifth decade covering sports for the Trib. He can be reached at jrutter@triblive.com.
