Steelers Now
Once Mike Tomlin stepped down as the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, so much of the conversation surrounding the team has been expectedly geared towards the Steelers’ coaching search to find his successor. Because of that, we haven’t truly had time to reflect back on the 2025 campaign for the club.
Obviously, all 32 franchises begin each year aspiring to become Super Bowl champs, but aside from a handful of well-constructed teams, that goal just isn’t very realistic. So, how can we define whether this journey was a success or failure?
Despite misguided offseason notions from those in the national media, the Steelers never pushed the chips all the way in, instead opting for remaining competitive, rather than initiating a rebuild. Everyone is more than welcome to have their opinions on whether or not that was the right approach, but it’s difficult to argue their actual intent.
As has often been the case for the vast majority of the last decade, Pittsburgh was a solid team that couldn’t quite escape the middle class of the NFL. Regardless of yet another Wild Card exit, I would argue that this season was a successful endeavor for one simple reason: the massive strides taken along the offensive line.
The Steelers sent a clear and obvious message during t,he 2024 NFL Draft, selecting offensive tackle Troy Fautanu and center Zach Frazier with their first two picks before doubling back with guard Mason McCormick on day three. Their vision was to get back to winning with their bigs in the trenches and they knew it would take a significant investment to replenish the talent cupboard up front. The best part? It didn’t take long for them to reap the rewards of those decisions.
Frazier proved that his impressive rookie season was far from a fluke, remaining remarkably consistent on a weekly basis. His ability to execute a myriad of different assignments in the run game makes him someone that they can legitimately build their rushing attack around moving forward, regardless of scheme. Whether it’s reach blocks, displacing defenders on combos, getting out in space on pulls or screen passes – his robust skill set opens up the playbook. His stout anchor helps set the depth of the pocket and he looked more comfortable passing off twists and games as the season wore on, something you’d expect to improve with time on task.
Zach Frazier escorting Roquan Smith to the Gatorade coolers, leaves Kenneth Gainwell 1v1 in space. pic.twitter.com/KKw62YwmlX
— Derrick (@Steelers_DB) January 5, 2026
In his first season at a brand new position on the right side, Fautanu’s athleticism and unique play style gave the Steelers something they simply haven’t had at the tackle position in a very, very long time. His strikes in pass pro are every bit as quick as they are powerful, and his ability to get out of his stance give him an early advantage versus even the springiest of edge rushers. He’s an on-the-fly problem solver that can...
