SCB Steelers Training Camp Battle Reports: Offensive Line

With the Steelers getting ready to report this week, we’re moving along with our Training Camp Battle Reports. Today we focus on the offensive line. If you missed the earlier Reports, check them out in the “Training Camp News” section on the homepage.

Major Battle: Alejandro Villanueva vs Ryan Harris

The offensive line of the Pittsburgh Steelers enters Training Camp in really good shape. That’s not something we’ve always been able to say during the Mike Tomlin era. Other than left tackle, which we’ll get to in a second, the starters are set.

Marcus Gilbert, who easily had his finest season in 2015, will start at right tackle. David DeCastro earned his first trip to the Pro Bowl and All-Pro status in 2015 and will return to start at right guard. Keep an eye on his contract situation as camp moves on. I believe something will get done before the start of the regular season.

Maurkice Pouncey returns to his starting center position after missing all of 2015. Not going to lie here, after seven procedures on that broken ankle, my confidence level is not high that he can go all 16 games. Obviously I hope for the best but I’m concerned.

At left guard is Ramon Foster who has turned himself into a starting lineman in the NFL after really not having much shot as a rookie. I think Foster is one of the best leaders on the team and his presence in the locker room is huge. I honestly thought the Steelers might look to upgrade there this past offseason. My thought was that they’d look to get more mobile there but it’s Foster’s job to lose.

Now let’s get down to the main event. In one corner you have the hulking Alejandro Villanueva who developed well under the tutelage of Offensive Line Coach Mike Munchak. He played better than expected in place of the injured Kelvin Beachum who is now in Jacksonville but the Steelers clearly felt there was room for improvement.

That brings us to the other corner where former Denver Bronco Ryan Harris is waiting. Harris entered 2015 as a back-up to Denver’s Ryan Clady but when he went down, Harris came in and started every game of the season which culminated in a Super Bowl title.

While Villanueva has a size advantage over Harris, I keep coming back to what my biggest concern is with the former Army Ranger, his size! Other offensive tackles in the NFL have played well at his height but because Villanueva is relatively new to the position, I think he has struggled to deal with speed rushers because his ‘bend’ just isn’t as effective as it needs to be.

Harris was not without his struggles at times too. At just 299 pounds he’s roughly the same size as Beachum was but that’s still on the small-ish side for an NFL left tackle. He was beaten by both speed and power at times last season. The good news about this battle is that either way, the Steelers will have a very good player in reserve.

Winner: Villanueva

Reserves

Don’t be shocked if you see a couple of surprises here. Cody Wallace, who has twice been solid in replacing Pouncey, seems like a sure bet. Don’t put all your money there. The Steelers really like B.J. Finney who who can play both guard and center and he’s more athletic than you might think.

The other lineman’s spot will likely go to Chris Hubbard who already has experience with the Steelers can play anywhere along the line. If you’re wondering about rookie fourth round draft pick Jerald Hawkins, I think he’s in for a battle. At best I believe he’s a practice squad player.

The final debate is whether the Steelers will choose to go with eight or nine O-Linemen on the final roster. I think they’ll go with eight and then seven on the game day roster.