Steelers OTAs Recap, Day 5: Let the battle at right tackle begin

The Pittsburgh Steelers were back on the field for Organized Team Activities (OTAs) Wednesday, and for those who haven’t been paying attention this isn’t breaking news. The Steelers have been participating in OTAs for the last few months, but Phase 3, which just started, gets the most news.

In case you don’t know, Phase 1 of OTAs is essentially just workouts with the strength and conditioning staff, Phase 2 is more position specific training/drills and Phase 3 is the most football-like of all OTAs. It is Phase 3 which is where teams can do 7-on-7, 9-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills. No contact, no pads, but plenty of news to go around. Before going any further, it is important to note these workouts are 100% voluntary.

There was plenty of news on Day 5 which wasn’t just the aforementioned topics, and in this article I will dive into those, as well as share some video fans might enjoy checking out!

Let’s get to the news...

As OTAs stretch on, there seems to be less and less coverage of the workouts as fans claim there is no news coming out of workouts which are nothing more than “football in shorts”.

While there may be something to this sentiment, it doesn’t mean there is nothing which can be gleaned from these workouts. Performance absolutely can’t be gauged considering there is no physical tackling going on, but at the same time, there are certain things which are worth noting.

One of those things has been where the Steelers have been putting Dan Moore Jr. in the early stages of the offseason. After drafting Broderick Jones in the 1st Round of the 2023 NFL Draft, the team has been moving Moore to right tackle more.

This per Mike Nicastro:

It should be noted Moore isn’t playing specifically at right tackle, but is rotating to that side. However, Moore seems to have seen the writing on the wall and started to get a head-start on the move from left to right before the draft took place.

Now, it seems Chuks Okorafor could be in another position battle throughout training camp. The last time Okorafor found himself in this spot was when he and Zach Banner battled it out for the starting right tackle position. Banner won that job, but only lasted roughly one game before tearing his ACL, an injury which has kept him out of the league ever since.

Putting Moore on both sides of the line makes a ton of sense for the Steelers. Not only does it create competition with Moore and Okorafor, but it also gives Moore the experience necessary if he is the team’s swing tackle heading into the regular season. Some might call that a win-win, but Moore might just say it’s a chance for him to prove his worth over the incumbent Okorafor.

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