The draft is officially over and attention will shift to OTAs and off-season camps. The 90-man roster is set and the team will be looking at their depth chart for every position entering camp. This series will examine who has the inside chances to be higher on the depth chart come August. For this edition, we will look at offensive guards.
Pittsburgh Steelers Offensive Guard Depth Chart Projections
Left Guard: Ramon Foster
The Steelers have the best duo of guards in the NFL. Ramon Foster was excellent last season. Coming into 2017 he is tied into his starting job. Last season Pro Football Focus graded Foster out to be the second best guard in the NFL. He graded out so well despite missing two games with an injury. Continuity is key and Foster is now entering his seventh straight season as the full-time starter at left guard. Foster is now 31 years and is only signed on for the next two seasons. While his long-term future with the Steelers will have to be evaluated in 2018, his 2017 status is in great shape and the arrow is still pointing up.
Right Guard: David DeCastro
DeCastro had a few issues with penalties, but he was right up there with Foster in the top tier of guards in the NFL. DeCastro started all 16 games last season and rated as the ninth best guard from the 2017 season. He has started all 16 games in each of the past three seasons and is entering his fifth straight year with the Steelers. DeCastro, at 26, is much younger than Foster, and the Steelers are much more invested in his future than Foster. The Steelers have him signed until the end of the 2021 season when DeCastro will be 31 years old. With the talent, consistency, and continuity of these two guards, it is hard to make a case for a more optimistic duo in 2017.
3. B.J. Finney
Finney was an undrafted free agent from Kansas State in 2015 who moved up from the practice squad to the active roster. In his limited time, he looks to be a nice find and a solid depth player. What is nice about Finney is that he can play center and guard. Finney started in three games last season and fared well in all three of them. He has what it takes to be a starter and there is a chance after the 2018 season that the Steelers will give him a chance to land Foster’s current position. As for now, he is a huge boost to an already talented and tenured offensive line.
4. Ethan Cooper
Cooper is an undrafted free agent from Indiana University-Pennsylvania, a Division II college in the area. However, the depth of the Steelers guard position gives him an outside shot of making the roster. Chris Hubbard can play some guard if needed, but he is most likely to make the team as the Steelers third tackle. If the team needs extra help on the interior, they may call on Cooper. This gives Cooper a decent shot at making the practice squad this season as well and makes him a player to watch in camp.
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