Nearly half of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ projected offensive starters in 2026 are either completely new to the roster or playing a different position than they were last year. Combine that with a new head coach, play caller, and offensive system, and there is little doubt that things will look vastly different. The expectation is for different to mean better, but significant questions must be answered for that to happen.
NFL Films guru Greg Cosell gave his two biggest questions for the Steelers’ offense.
“O-line and run game, to me, are the two questions as we speak in mid-to-late June,” he said via the Ross Tucker Football Podcast.
The severity of the issue has lessened in recent years, but those two questions have lingered for the Steelers for several seasons. Their first offensive line rebuild failed, and then they plopped first-round RB Najee Harris into the middle of the situation expecting a delivery from run-game hell. He couldn’t. Very few running backs realistically could have.
There’s much more reason for optimism this time around.
Starting with the offensive line, nobody has invested more into that group than GM Omar Khan and the Steelers over the last few years. Starting with a trade-up for Broderick Jones in 2023, the Steelers have drafted seven offensive linemen since then. That includes three first-round tackles and a pair of Day 2 picks as well.
It’s time for the investment to pay off, and the continued ascension of Zach Frazier, Troy Fautanu, and Mason McCormick should make that possible. Flipping sides could slow Fautanu and McCormick down at first, but it’s a necessary evil to set up a smooth transition for 2026 first-round OT Max Iheanachor as soon as possible.
“I like his tape a lot,” Cosell said of Iheanachor. “I think he’s an ascending player because he’s young at the position and I think he can be a really, really good right tackle. And I think they would love him to win the job, but he’s a rookie…So the o-line has some question marks. I don’t wanna say concerns because it’s June.”
Hand-in-hand with the o-line, Cosell wonders what Pittsburgh’ run game will look like in 2026. There were brief signs of life with Kenneth Gainwell and Jaylen Warren running behind jumbo sets last year, but it wasn’t consistent enough to give the offense a coherent identity.
Can the Steelers find more success this year out of 11 and 12 personnel without having to put Darnell Washington and an extra tackle-eligible on the field? The offensive line’s growth factors in, and Mike McCarthy’s scheme will also have a big influence. It’s a lot easier to run when teams fear the deep ball or respect the passing game beyond the line of scrimmage.
“I think they need a consistent run game,” Cosell said. “I think that’s really, really important.”
Kenneth Gainwell was a valuable piece last year, but Rico Dowdle should be an upgrade as a pure runner and form a formidable ground-game tandem with Jaylen Warren. Don’t write off second-year RB Kaleb Johnson as a factor in that equation yet, either.
Neither question comes with a guaranteed answer. The offensive line is young, inexperienced, and still settling into new roles. The running game is transitioning to a new scheme and a new backfield rotation. But unlike previous years, the Steelers aren’t relying on one player to solve those problems. They’re betting that years of investment up front and a more balanced offensive approach will finally provide the answers Cosell is looking for.
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