It took just a few hours on a Thursday for the Steelers to go from announcing the release of their nine-year, six-time Pro Bowl guard David DeCastro to the signing of five-time Pro Bowl guard Trai Turner to a one-year deal.
DeCastro became more than just a familiar face in Pittsburgh, as he was the ultimate enforcer on the offense and a dominant lineman for most of the 2010s. His being on the roster gave the Steelers a reliable player, leader, and character player that everyone knew and admired.
But what's there to know about the team's new 28-year old, 6-foot-3, 315 lbs. guard entering his eighth NFL season in Turner? That's a big question for an offensive line that's going to look completely different than the consistent linemen that have been starters and key contributors to the Steelers' offense for several years.
Turner brings his own experience working up from being a late-third round pick by the Panthers in 2014 out of LSU. He quickly worked his way into being a starter for Carolina his rookie season, starting nine games and then starting every regular season game for the next two seasons.
From 2015-2019, Turner represented the Panthers in the Pro Bowl each season. He was a key protector of Cam Newton and lead run blocker for backs like Jonathan Stewart and Christian McCaffrey.
But 2017 was his last season he looked truly dominant in both phases of the offense. Since then he's maintained a reputation of a strong interior lineman who can move opponents.
Here's a look at what Turner was in his best element, getting physical and nasty up the middle to knock defenders off the line of scrimmage, move the pile and create space to run. He's No. 70 playing right guard where he's lined up right in front of No. 93, Ndamukong Suh. Suh has been a physical bully for his entire career, but Turner managed to work a chip block to push Suh off the ball and then help finish off Lawrence Timmons who approached the hole:
The result was Stewart getting six yards up the gut.
That style of play suited Turner well and let him use his functional strength in short spaces where he could overpower opponents. He was a solid contributor to the Panthers 15-1 season that led to a Super Bowl 50 appearance before they got stopped by the elite Broncos defense led by Von Miller.
But that dip in productivity in 2018 could be attributed to a few changes in Turner's career. 2016 was the last season he's started for a full 16-game season, having only started 13 games in each of 2017, 2018 and 2019 and only started nine games in 2020. But when I watch the difference in the Panthers' offense, I see a more concrete reason.
From Turner's rookie season in 2014 to 2017, the Panthers' offense was run by coordinator Mike Shula, who ran a more physical power run style of offense that worked less around proper spacing and more about blowing opponents off the ball. In 2018 the Panthers switched to Norv Turner as an offensive coordinator, a move that opened up the offense more.
The move worked for the offense's new playmaker in McCaffrey, who became the featured part of the offense next to Newton. But his speedy skills required a change in the philosophy of the offense, diverting away from the power runs and squeezing a stronger back like Stewart into tight gaps up the middle. The change forced Turner to work more in space, where his skillset was diminished in how well it could benefit the Panthers.
Then in 2020 he joined the Chargers with Austin Ekeler, another smaller quicker running back who worked better in space than in power run situations. Turner made the best of the situation that he could, but ultimately still wasn't the dominant force he was in his prime with the Panthers.
Here's an example from last season where you can see him still wearing No. 70 at right guard, get control of his man and bring him down the line to open up space for Ekeler to attack:
Solid job, but not the moving his man off the ball that he showed in years prior like he did when he moved Suh off the line.
Maybe Turner just needs a return to that style of offense, and could find that with the Steelers' new offense under Matt Canada. It's clear Najee Harris is going to be a huge part of the plan moving forward, and his style of running does not shy away from charging up the middle of a defense where Turner could get back to what he does best.
And not only does that fit Harris' run style, but it also fits the description Kevin Dotson told us about how new offensive line coach Adrian Klemm is preaching for the Steelers' offensive line's "run through his face mentality."
Turner may be ready to run through some faces when he joins the Steelers in training camp and gets his first snaps in preseason. If he pulls that off, he will be a solid jolt to a unit whose most experienced starter in a Steelers uniform now is Chukwuma Okorafor with 15 starts last season.
But Turner's also a decent-to-good pass protector. During his seven seasons he's played 3,564 snaps in pass protection, allowing only 13 sacks, 20 quarterback hits and 168 pressures according to PFF. During those same seasons, DeCastro played 4,577 snaps in pass protection, allowing only 11 sacks, 16 quarterback hits, and 166 pressures.
That means for the past seven seasons, Turner allowed pressure on his quarterback 4.7 percent of passing plays compared to DeCastro allowing pressure 3.6 percent of passing plays. That's still a good rate to have, and something the Steelers will need him to maintain or improve upon to protect Ben Roethlisberger.
Here's the only sack Turner allowed on Justin Herbert in 2020, going against Lawrence Guy of the Patriots. You can see solid footwork and initial positioning on Guy to keep his opponent from crossing his face. But it looked like Ekeler stepped up and out of the way at the wrong moment when Turner passed off Guy to take on another pass rusher twisting into his lane:
If Harris lives up to the hype, plays like that won't happen too often on Roethlisberger as he'll step into the mix and make the block.
But what's impressive about Turner is for how physical he is, he also looks the part of an ever-aware pass protector who understands how to not get too locked in on a single pass rusher and be ready for different combinations of rushes that catch other linemen off guard.
Watch how he read the Chiefs' pass rush on this play and looked smooth transitioning from one man to another. He started the play by engaging Tim Ward on the inside and did that well, but he kept his head up and noticed the plan was for edge rusher Frank Clark to twist inside of Ward for a quick path to Herbert.
Turner saw it the whole way and cut Clark off, giving Herbert the pocket he needed to make a big throw:
That's the veteran kind of experience the Steelers need on their line.
Dotson, Okorafor and Zach Banner may bring NFL experience, but neither has started for a full season, let alone developed multiple years as a starter to learn from mistakes and successes. Kendrick Green will be learning on the fly, and having a veteran like Turner next to him, like how DeCastro was going to be, could help him learn faster.
Combine that with the potential for Turner to find his new home in the Steelers' physical blocking style with a highly anticipated running back in Harris, and maybe Turner can be closer to the asset he was for the Panthers in his prime than he had been over the past few years.
If he is, it would be actually be an upgrade to what DeCastro could provide in 2020 while he nursed multiple injuries throughout the season that kept him from being the dominant force he was known to be for most of his career.
