Isaac Seumalo will be in the Pittsburgh Steelers lineup for the first time this season on Sunday night, sandwiching himself between rookie center Zach Frazier and left tackle Dan Moore Jr. Frazier is beloved in his first season, but left tackle Moore has impressed Seumalo more than anyone else.
“Dan has been the ultimate professional since I’ve been here,” Seumalo said, via Steelers.com. “I think he’s playing the best soccer of his life, and I’ve always told him there are no limits for him. He’s always had the talent. For some reason, three years anyway, It’s been four years. I think he’s playing great and I’m excited that he’s still here playing ball and bringing a positive attitude every day.”
Despite the Steelers drafting back-to-back tackles in the first round for the first time in franchise history, Moore held on to the left tackle post. Troy Fautanu’s rookie year was effectively over, perhaps due to injury, but Moore never lost his spot even if they were both healthy. In Week 2, Fautanu’s first start, the Steelers rotated at right tackle while Moore opted to play all downs at left tackle, but Jones committed three costly penalties on drives. The team’s plans were thrown into the trash because of what they had done.
Moore has consistently increased his presence. He’s still a better run blocker than a pass protector, but the latter metric worked in his favor this year as he got better at keeping the quarterback upright. For those who care about PFF’s metrics, Moore is the 17th best offensive tackle this season, 22nd best run blocker and 27th best pass protector. That’s a big change from last year, when the site ranked him 80th in tackles, 48th in run blockers and 80th in pass protectors.
He once drew the ire of Steelers fans, but the question has now shifted to whether he has a future in Pittsburgh. Although a pending free agent, it would still be wise for the team to let him walk or roll with Jones and Moore next season. But that will probably depend on how Jones performs the rest of the season. If he struggles, the team could change direction again. Pittsburgh has certainly shown a willingness to bench him for Moore. But the more Moore plays, the higher his cost becomes, and Pittsburgh, which has two first-round rookies on rookie deals while moving money to quarterback in the offseason, is also attractive.