Much-maligned Steeler might’ve only needed a first-round pick nipping at his heels

The Pittsburgh Steelers' offensive line has struggled since their beloved offensive line coach, Mike Munchak left for the Denver Broncos years ago. Since then, their unit up front has steadily declined behind the retirement of Steelers legends like David DeCastro and Maurkice Pouncey.

They have slowly built it back up though. Specifically over the last two NFL Drafts. They have selected linemen like Troy Fautanu, Broderick Jones, Zach Frazier, and a few others that have contributed right away. The ideal outcome for the Steelers was that Jones would start at right tackle and Fautanu would replace Dan Moore Jr. at left tackle whenever Fautanu could get healthy.

It made sense this way. Moore has been horrible for the Steelers during his tenure with the team. He was seemingly always getting beat by even the most mediocre edge rushers in the league. He never showed the technique or the foot speed to keep up with any sort of solid pass rush move.

But all that Moore has done in 2024 is turn his career around and ruin the plan for the Steelers, in a good way.

With Troy Fautanu behind him, Dan Moore Jr. experiencing a career resurgence in 2024

All it took for Moore was the threat of losing his job to the Steelers 2024 first round pick and now Moore looks like an elite blindside protector.

A recent graphic from a Twitter account has been making its' rounds through the football media. It's meant to depict the best pass protectors in the league based on their blown block percentage and their allowed pressure percentage from both Pro Football Focus and SIS. Both of these figures are great indicators for a pass blockers longevity performing at the level that they do.

Being in the top right of the chart indicates they don't blow blocks often and they don't allow pressure often. More is elite in both categories through two games.

Note that Moore is up in the elite category among tackles like Trent Williams, Charles Cross, Jawaan Taylor and Rashawn Slater. These four offensive tackles are seen as complete game changers while Moore was viewed as a replaceable option for the Steelers.

It's also important to note that the Steelers flipped their plan on its' head last week. After Jones was called for a handful of penalties, he was benched for Fautanu at right tackle. The most recent Steelers depth chart also indicates that Fautanu has taken over as the starter over Jones.

Either way, Dan Moore's breakout 2024 season has taken the Steelers by surprise, but nobody in the Steel City is complaining about it.