It’s safe to say that the Pittsburgh Steelers have had a pretty eventful offseason to date with Omar Khan completely revamping the offensive side of the ball. To kick off the spring, the franchise hired former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith to come be the offensive coordinator for a franchise desperate for points production. In a somewhat surprising but necessary move, the team also signed former Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson and subsequently traded away their 2022 first round pick in Kenny Pickett.
In just about every stylistic and schematic fashion, the Steelers offense is slated to look much different. Of course, fans of the team around the globe are also hoping that “different” will equate to improvement as well. Head coach Mike Tomlin has acknowledged that both pieces are looking for a fresh start following recent career shortcomings and the pairing has a chance to rewrite the narrative surrounding their reputation.
The previous versions of Russell Wilson and Arthur Smith don’t exactly mesh incredibly well on the surface, but you’d expect that everyone involved understands that in order to foster growth, there must be change associated. A huge question that we don’t yet know the answer to is how will opposing defenses play the Steelers new look offense? Smith’s offense revolves around heavy personnel, a persistent rushing attack led by wide zone principles and often times tight splits from the receivers. Defenses have often countered his schem.