Steelers sixth lineman Spencer Anderson is receiving more attention lately, but is receiving a pass in his near future? Although he’d love to, he’s not exactly telling. Despite teammates and reporters potentially hinting around the possibility, there is no advantage in spoiling such plans. The third-year lineman played 19 offensive snaps—all as a blocker—in their last game an aid to the run game.
A seventh-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Spencer Anderson is the Steelers’ least-talked-about offensive lineman of the Omar Khan era. Of course, he’s the only one who isn’t in the starting lineup, but he’s getting on the field now. Still, predicting a reception on the horizon, let alone a touchdown, is bold.
On Tuesday, HC Mike Tomlin joked around that if you gave Anderson a minute, he’ll tell you about his tight end background. Similarly, QB Aaron Rodgers quipped that Anderson has good hands. For his part, he confirmed that he would “absolutely” love to catch a pass. “It’s an o-lineman’s dream to catch a big-man touchdown”, he said, via the Steelers’ website. “But we’ll see in the days to come. Hopefully there’s a pass coming my way soon”.
Still, when a reporter specifically asked him if they have any plays that get him the ball, he said, “Not that I know of, no”. Of course, that is the answer Anderson should give whether they do or do not have such plays. Even for offensive linemen with some receiving background, however, throwing them the ball is a dicey proposition. It probably works better when a quarterback is throwing the pass, but they did manage to get Alejandro Villanueva into the end zone off of Chris Boswell’s arm.
To be clear, as of now, we have no idea whether the Steelers are actually putting a play into practice to throw Spencer Anderson the ball. While he could continue to see an increased workload, that is likely in a blocking capacity. Of course, throwing an offensive lineman the ball works best when you’re expecting him to block.
Given the Steelers’ recent slump in the red zone, however, it isn’t a bad idea to explore other ways to finish off a drive. They haven’t employed a lot of gadgetry so far this year, but there is untapped potential in that direction. And that could be as simple as making opponents think you’re throwing to Spencer Anderson.
Or maybe just making Steelers bloggers think you’re thinking about throwing to Spencer Anderson. This is becoming a game of 3D chess. The bottom line is Pittsburgh needs to find its way into the red zone more—and then into the end zone. They still have the eighth-ranked red-zone offense, but that will change—and cause a massive problem—if trends continue.
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