Steelers hire Arthur Smith as OC: What should you expect?

Former head coach, offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Arthur Smith is set to join the Black and Gold for the 2024-25 season

By Aidan Treu

 

It is no secret Arthur Smith did not light up the league during his head coaching tenure with the Falcons. Social media would be quick to point that out, though he may be a better fit than many think.

The most frequent criticism of the Steelers' new OC was inconsistency in getting his top playmakers the ball. In some situations this was the case, but it is not entirely true.

Bijan Robinson was his star, a running back picked top-10. The narrative was set that he didn't touch the ball enough. This is overlooking his finish within the top-10 of rushing plus receiving yards at 1,463.

Another criticism was Drake London's lack of involvement. London quietly finished the year just outside the top-32 in receiving yards with 905, but that is besides the point.

Much of these criticisms can be somewhat put to bed when looking at his personnel tendencies. The Falcons were top-five in 12, 22, 13 and 21 personnel during the 2023 regular season, sitting at first in usage for the former two.

For those who do not know, when referring to personnel groupings, the first digit refers to the number of running backs in a formation and the second refers to the number of tight ends. In a basic sense this means 12 personnel consists of one running back, two tight ends and two wide receivers to go along with the standard quarterback and offensive line.

The 2023 Falcons marquee offensive group was 12 personnel with their usage rate at 41.8%, only somewhat rivaled by the Patriots 38.9%.

The Falcons were the only team in the NFL to not use 11 personnel at the highest rate of any grouping. The 2022 team ranked similarly, although not to such an extent.

Long story short, the Steelers new offensive coordinator likes using heavy sets to run the ball, confuse the defense and draw linebackers closer to the line of scrimmage. Consequently, his tendencies go hand-in-hand with a high play-action rate, something almost completely foreign to recent Pittsburgh teams.

This is where his schematic tendencies start to jump out as potential benefits for the Steelers. 

This year's Falcons were fourth in play-action pass attempts and sixth in play-action passing yards. The Steelers were 30th and 31st in those respective categories.

Smith's 2020 Tennessee Titans were third in play-action attempts and second in play-action passing yards with an athletic quarterback who did not necessarily hold any obviously elite traits, a physically dominant wide receiver who was great at the catch point and a big, physical runningback who wears down defenses as the game goes on.

Smith's 2024 offense will have an athletic quarterback who does not necessarily hold any obviously elite traits, a physically dominant wide receiver who is great at the catch point and a big, physical running back who wears down defenses as the game goes on.

Now no one is calling Kenny Pickett prime Ryan Tannehill, nor has George Pickens reached A.J. Brown levels, nor has Najee Harris been on the level of Derrick Henry. 

The comparisons are visible though, and it becomes easier to see why Smith may have wanted to come here. He has the pieces to recreate his elite 2020 offense on a roster currently constructed to win with a heavy dose of the ground game.

Back to Pickett, he has not shown enough yet to prove he will be Pittsburgh's franchise quarterback.

The good news for the soon-to-be third-year QB is that in what is likely his final shot, Mike Tomlin and company are a good draft and off-season away from creating the perfect scenario for him to succeed or show the Steelers they need to find a signal-caller elsewhere.

 He has shown flashes, but its now or never to prove those flashes can be turned into consistency.

The hire should also tell Steelers fans two more things. For one, they are committing to the gameplan of pounding the rock and winning games by dominating time of possession and having a positive turnover ratio. And two, don't be surprised if the offensive line gets a big addition or two before the upcoming season.

As for the former, Smith may change a lot, but this is still Tomlin's team and he has shown over and over again he wants to win by playing clean, physical football.

During Pittsburgh's final three games this year, they were sixth in time of possession per game and fourth in rushing yards per game. That is the goal moving forward. 

Smith's high usage of heavy personnel lends itself to that game design, with Tennessee in the top-three of rushing yards per game in both of his seasons as offensive coordinator there. 

As for the latter, the former offensive line coach committed to the run is joining a team committed to the run with established players at right and left guard and a first-rounder who can play either tackle spot.

Broderick Jones looked better when playing left tackle. The upcoming draft may be playing perfectly for the Steelers to construct a high-potential offensive line and have Jones playing where he is most comfortable.

Assuming Jones moves back over, that leaves holes at right tackle and center where there is a wealth of talent in the upcoming draft.

Any of Jackson Powers-Johnson, Zach Frazier or Sedrick Van Pran could step in and play center for Pittsburgh. Right tackle is slightly more convoluted, but between established potential first-rounders such as Taliese Fuaga or Amarius Mims and senior bowl risers like Tyler Guyton, there is a wide range of talent to choose from.

Not to mention the Steelers showed with Broderick Jones they are comfortable having a rookie offensive tackle switch sides on the line if they believe the talent is there.

Drafting for needs typically is not the best strategy, but the puzzle may be falling into place perfectly.

Offensive coordinators never touch the ball. They cannot fix every problem on offense. What they can do is put talented players in the best situation to succeed. The potential schematic overhaul that may be coming with Smith could finally be the switch Pittsburgh needs to allow their defense to win them games in a repeatable fashion.