The Steelers offense will feature plenty of familiar faces in 2020, including the return of Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback.
But will it be an offense longtime fans and observers of the team will recognize?
The team's offseason moves suggest that might not exactly be the case.
Innovative former college football offensive coordinator Matt Canada was brought in as the team's quarterbacks coach and to help add some new ideas to what the Steelers can do offensively with pre-snap motion and misdirection. And two of the team's biggest offseason acquisitions were fullback Derek Watt and tight end Eric Ebron.
Even if they won't openly express their intentions publicly, teams often show what those intentions might be based on the moves they make in the offseason.
For the Steelers, even though they're sticking with running back James Conner as their lead runner after an injury-played season, getting more creative with the running game is something the team plans for 2020. When you add fullbacks and even a big pass-catching tight end such as Ebron, you are screaming to the world you want to run the ball better.
That's where the new guys will come into play.
"There has been conversations on just things that we can do better and how we can do it better and how we can get in better sets formationally," Steelers running back coach Eddie Faulkner said. "Different ways we can run plays and create plays by motioning guys to a certain spot. But it is no different than anybody else in the league or involved in football is really doing. We are just trying to put our best product out. We realize we do need to improve and that has been our mission going back to the spring virtually."
The Steelers have some plans to get bigger and multi-faceted by using more formations that utilize two tight ends, with Ebron on the field with holdover Vance McDonald. Largely in 2019, when the Steelers did run a two-tight end set, they used offensive tackle Zach Banner as the extra blocker, giving them one less eligible receiver.
Now, if they go to two tight ends, both will be potential weapons.
"He’s a talented guy with a unique skillset for his position," Mike Tomlin said of Ebron. "We’re excited about carving out a role and highlighting those talents. Some of it may include multiple tight end personnel groups. Some of it may not."
Part of putting that best product on the field could be better use of the fullback as a weapon.
While former fullback Roosevelt Nix was effective as a blocker and special teams player, as a former college defensive tackle, he wasn't much of a threat with the ball in his hands. In five seasons with the Steelers, Nix caught just 12 passes for 69 yards and had four carries for four yards.
Watt, meanwhile, has been used as a weapon in his previous four seasons with the Chargers. A fullback in college at Wisconsin, Watt is more accustomed to not only blocking, but being used out of the backfield. He has 19 carries in four seasons and 10 receptions for 152 yards, a healthy 15.2 yards per catch average.
Watt, who was signed to help replace the special teams production of linebacker Tyler Matakevich as well as play fullback, could provide some additional offensive wrinkles the Steelers didn't have before.
The known aspect of his game that was really attractive to us was his high level of productivity on special teams. I think he and (Matakevich) led the NFL in special teams tackles a year ago," Tomlin said of Watt. "Because we had an opportunity to play against his team last year, we were very respectful of his fullback skills. Some of the off-the-beaten-path things, the additional things, we're going to learn about him along the way."
Nix played just 35 snaps last year because of a knee issue. In 2018, he played just 110 snaps. In 2017, that number was 181 when Nix was a Pro Bowl player.
Watt played 122 snaps in 2019 for the Chargers. He played 146 in 2018 and 142 in 2017.
But some of the more successful teams in the league -- particularly running the ball -- have utilized the fullback much more. Five teams had fullbacks play more than 200 snaps last season, led by the 49ers' Kyle Juszczyk with 396. Of those five teams -- the 49ers, Vikings, Ravens, Saints and Raiders -- three finished in the top 10 in the league in rushing, including Baltimore and San Francisco being the top two, while all five were in the top half of the league running the ball.
This is not to say the Steelers are suddenly going to vault into the top 10 in the NFL in rushing simply by playing the fullback more. They were 29th in the league in rushing in 2019 at 90.4 yards per game after finishing 31st in 2018 at 90.3 yards per game.
But with Roethlisberger coming off an elbow injury that required surgery and now 38 years old, the team definitely wants to take some pressure off of him and the passing game. Roethlisberger led the NFL in passing yards and attempts in 2018.
The Steelers want to strike more of a balance, and using Watt more than they did Nix could help provide some of that. After all, they didn't give Watt $9.75 million over three years to not utilize him.
"It’s been awesome having Derek. He comes to work every day. He’s a leader as well," Conner said. "In the classroom, he sets the tone in there with his knowledge and how he’s picking things up. On the field he brings energy. I’m excited to be with Derek. He has a great resume. He will help our team out a lot, especially on special teams as well. You know, the way he comes down on kickoffs and being a fullback, he does it all. I’m excited to be with him."
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