PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It's been quite a transformation since Arthur Smith was named offensive coordinator and it continued on Friday.
Hired on January 30, the Steelers have not only remade the quarterback room, added a couple of receivers and tight end and one of his favorite players from Atlanta, versatile Cordarelle Patterson. In the last two days they drafted tackle Troy Fautanu and now center Zach Frazier with the team's first two selections.
"Any great team I've been around, it's always going to start upfront," Smith said Friday night. "There are so many important pieces. When you want to play a certain brand of football, the Steelers brand of football, it certainly helps to have the right guys."
He thinks they are on their way to playing the Steelers brand of football. He wouldn't say they were there yet, but they added a pair of tough-minded offensive lineman who play with a certain edge. They also have a lot of college experience at the position they want them to play in the NFL.
"The consistency, they've played a lot of snaps at a high level," Smith said. "They are not up-and-down players. They are two really physical players that play with a lot of effort, high football IQ. They both play with an edge. They are very smart players, you don't see a lot of lulls in their game. It's a credit to both in the way that they worked and the way that they trained."
"They check a lot of boxes for us."
Smith said he was excited that it broke their way to where they didn't have to move from their original draft spots to get a tackle and center they wanted. Now they will see how it plays out in camp and if they can carry their college play into the pros.
"I've been fortune enough to be around a lot of great young players in previous stops," Smith said. "These guys had a lot of experience. Both Zach and Troy, they've played a lot of snaps. They are not that green. There is always a learning curve getting into the National Football League, it will sort itself out."
If it does, the offense is close to being the dominate group at the line of scrimmage they were when they were playing in and winning playoff games.
