Steelers made best free-agent signing in AFC North in 2022

Going into the 2022 offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers had some massive holes to fill, especially on the offensive line. After attempting to boost the line with cheap, quick fixes, the Steelers had to make a legitimate effort to try and surround their future QB with some semblance of protection. One of the weakest points of the line was immediately boosted with James Daniels at right guard, and he made an immediate impact for the Steelers, alongside another free-agent acquisition in Mason Cole. Cole helped boost the O-line as well, but Daniels made the biggest impact.

How did James Daniels truly improve the Steelers?

Of course, having mobile quarterbacks will help somewhat, but when you look at how the offensive line went from the worst in the league to solid, you have to give credit where credit is due. It also helps to have an improved offensive line coach, as Pat Meyer proved that he just needs talent on the line to make it worthwhile. Even with all of that in place, to say that Daniels was the key piece to this offense is a massive understatement.

On a line that previously lacked consistency and quality, Daniels brought both. He played every single snap and didn't allow a sack all season long. He helped keep Kenny Pickett calm and comfortable in the pocket on every passing play. His expert play helped ease the workload of his linemates to either side of him, Mason Cole and Chukwuma Okorafor. With all that help, the right side of the line was solidified for the most part, leaving Pittsburgh to only have to worry about two positions on the line, as opposed to all five in the previous season. 

Daniels was also a key piece to the run game getting going. Najee Harris had more holes to work with, and he suddenly stopped getting hit behind the line of scrimmage repeatedly. The Steelers also suddenly had running back depth, both with new and old faces. Jaylen Warren proved he could hold his own in the run game, and even had fans wanting him to start over Harris early in the season when Harris was dealing with a nagging foot injury. 

When both of them were hurt, Benny Snell and Anthony McFarland completely took over the offense against the Indianapolis Colts. That high level of RB depth is only possibly with a quality offensive line, and that was made possible by the addition of Daniels to the line.

What about the rest of the AFC North?

All the other AFC North teams made key additions as well. The Cincinnati Bengals also made major boosts to their offensive line, with La'el Collins, Alex Cappa and Ted Karras. Collins and Kappa did well on the right side for the Bengals, but had injury issues to end the season, including missing every playoff game. Karras was able to lock down the center position for the Bengals, but allowed a couple sacks and was part of a struggling and injured line that allowed Joe Burrow to get sacked repeatedly in a close loss in the AFC Championship Game. While Karras was great, he couldn't get above the high bar set by Daniels.

Marcus Williams was signed to boost the secondary for the Baltimore Ravens, but he only played 10 game due to nagging injuries and was a part of a defense that was constantly choking away games, especially early in the season. The offense for Baltimore being led by Greg Roman and a pair of quarterbacks with limited passing ability didn't help much either. Either way, the defense let up way too many leads, and it was partially due to Williams.

The Cleveland Browns blew most of their capital on trading for Deshaun Watson, who is still trying to knock off the rust from being out of football for almost two years. While Cleveland had plenty of cap space, they couldn't use it on contracts longer than one season, due to the contract they gave Watson. Do not expect the Browns to major players in free agency for the next half-decade, as Watson eats too much of their cap, and they lack draft capital.