![\"Trade](\"https:\/\/local12.com\/resources\/media2\/16x9\/full\/1015\/center\/80\/a896b6e4-5b6d-4433-aa4c-6352e3630e34-large16x9_jonahwilliams.png\")
<\/p>\nThe\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0could use a\u00a0tackle upgrade this offseason to take another step forward with their offensive line in 2024. Pro Football Focus\u2019 Brad Spielberger suggested the Steelers not leave the AFC North to find an upgrade.\u00a0Spielberger named the Steelers one of two potential landing spots for\u00a0Cincinnati Bengals\u00a0offensive tackle\u00a0Jonah Williams.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Steelers\u2019 offseason approach on offense will be truly fascinating after the hiring of Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator, and we never really got a straight answer as to why former starting right tackle\u00a0Chukwuma Okorafor\u00a0was banished from the starting lineup,\u201d Spielberger wrote. \u201cDo the Steelers move 2023 first-round pick tackle\u00a0Broderick Jones\u00a0back to left tackle?<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he stays at right tackle, do they look for an upgrade over\u00a0Dan Moore Jr., who has allowed one of the highest pressure rates in the NFL two years in a row?<\/p>\n
\u201cOur projection may be a bit expensive for a Steelers free-agent signing, but we also might be too high with our initial number.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pro Football Focus projected\u00a0Williams to be worth a 4-year, $64 million contract in free agency this offseason. In addition to the $16 million average annual salary, PFF also predicted Williams to receive $40 million guaranteed.<\/p>\n
That could be too big of a contract for the Steelers this offseason. However, it\u2019s hard deny the fit Williams could potentially be in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n
As Spielberger noted, the Steelers have significant questions at offensive tackle. That\u2019s true even with 2023 first-round pick\u00a0Broderick Jones\u00a0set to be an offensive line staple in Pittsburgh for years.<\/p>\n
Jones switched to right tackle in the middle of the season because\u00a0the Steelers benched\u00a0Chukwuma Okorafor. Jones is a natural left tackle, but\u00a0head coach Mike Tomlin explained\u00a0that\u00a0Dan Moore Jr.\u00a0remained the team\u2019s starter on the quarterback\u2019s blind side because Moore wasn\u2019t as effective on his opposite side as Jones.<\/p>\n
If the Steelers hope to improve at offensive tackle, they seemingly have two choices. First, they could move Jones back to left tackle and find a new right tackle. Or second, the Steelers could keep Jones on the right side and find an upgrade over Moore.<\/p>\n
Williams is an option with either choice. His experience at both left and right tackle would allow the Steelers the flexibility to have Jones play either tackle position.<\/p>\n
Williams played\u00a0all of his offensive line snaps at right tackle in 2023. But prior to that, he played left tackle.<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old started at right tackle for all 17 games in 2023. Over the past three seasons, he\u2019s missed just two contests.<\/p>\n
While he appears to be a fit, the Steelers signing Williams is far from a sure thing because of his potential contract.<\/p>\n
Spotrac reported\u00a0the Steelers are about $14.7 million over the salary cap entering the offseason.\u00a0The team has some obvious roster cuts\u00a0it can make to clear space. However, dedicating an average of $16 million per season to Williams could still prove difficult with all the other positions the Steelers need to address this offseason.<\/p>\n
How much of an upgrade Williams is could also be a concern.\u00a0According to the Pro Football Focus player grades, Williams was better than Moore. But both offensive tackles finished with a PFF grade among the 10 worst offensive tackles who played at least 50% of his team\u2019s snaps in 2023.<\/p>\n
It doesn\u2019t make sense for the Steelers to spend big on Williams if the team doesn\u2019t consider him an upgrade. He may need to be a significant upgrade to justify the money and cap space.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0could use a\u00a0tackle upgrade this offseason to take another step forward with their offensive line in 2024. Pro Football Focus\u2019 Brad Spielberger suggested the Steelers not… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nbatruc.playsetmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82931"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nbatruc.playsetmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nbatruc.playsetmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nbatruc.playsetmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nbatruc.playsetmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nbatruc.playsetmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82931\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nbatruc.playsetmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nbatruc.playsetmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nbatruc.playsetmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}