Steelers Now
Having success over the middle of the field has been a big issue for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the post-Ben Roethlisberger era. Matt Canada’s offense rarely targeted the middle of the field, and it’s never been a strong suite of Russell Wilson’s game.
With four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers under center this year, however, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith anticipates a lot more passes over the middle of the field.
“I think you’re playing to strengths. Sometimes, you’re really good outside the numbers with the coverage you’re getting, and really that was a strength of ours last year,” Smith said on Thursday. “You look at the history of Russell Wilson and that’s where he thrived… this year will be different. You’re looking like you’re not trying, but you want to fit it to personnel… you’re aware of it, but sometimes you’re just trying to play to your strengths.”
Rodgers threw 317 passes over the middle in 2024, which was well above the league average and the seventh-most attempts of any quarterback that year.
With Rodgers bullish on the Steelers’ tight ends room, expect a heavy dose of targets over the middle this year.
“I think it’s the best tight end room that I’ve been around in 21 years, because you have four extremely capable guys,” Rodgers said. “We had different runs at Green Bay, where we had some great players, but just the depth that we have here, with four guys who you feel great about having on the field at any time. They all have different skill sets they bring to the table.”
Rodgers raved about Darnell Washington, who’s also know by “Mount Washington.”
“The other day we had a practice and I threw him a bunch of balls in the red zone, and I was just thinking to myself, he’s definitely in the right position because he’s so big and so athletic. For a man of that size to be that skilled in the passing game is pretty impressive, not to mention what he does on the line of scrimmage,” Rodgers said.
Tight end Jonnu Smith, who notched 88 receptions for 884 yards and eight scores last year, has the same assuredness regarding his position group. He believes the other skill positions will help unlock their potential.
“The sky’s the limit,” Smith said Thursday. “We’re gonna be able to complement each other, play off of each other’s energy, man. … We’ve got a hell of a tight end room.”
Smith also gave Washington a ringing endorsement.
“That’s a different beast right there, man,” Smith said. “That’s a different style of player. That guy is going to be a headache for a long time in this league.”
Alan Saunders and Brenden Howe provided reporting from Pittsburgh.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Arthur Smith Promises One Big Change on Offense: ‘This Year Will Be Different’
