Do we need to keep Villanueva?

[Joel Buchsbaum]

I say yes, and we might have to pay more than the Steelers would like to retain his services.

Reasons why to keep him.

1 ) He's the lone proven Left Tackle on the team. As such he's really the most valuable lineman we have on game-day. There is no way Banner or Chucks can play LT well enough not to handicap the passing game.

2 ) He's super durable and has played in every game for the past five years.

3 ) While he is 32 ( With a September birthday ) he sure could be shifted to Right tackle is he slows down a little.

4 ) Last year he did allow 2 sacks which isn't decent for a left tackle. He was flagged 3 times.

http://hosted.stats.com/fb/playerstats.asp?id=27528

So I say the Steelers better draft a tackle and keep Big Al in their short term plans. Al is the type of player who gives his best and takes his profession seriously. Maybe he only plays 1-2 more seasons at Left tackle, but there is no other option. And no, I do not think a rookie will be better than he is at left tackle now. So how much will he get? Guessing, it could be 40 million for 4 years. Is he worth that? That's slightly over paying him but what choice do we have?

[feltdizz]

No.. the only reason he didn’t give up more sacks is because most of our passes were 0 to 3 yards

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

I say yes, and we might have to pay more than the Steelers would like to retain his services.

Reasons why to keep him.

1 ) He's the lone proven Left Tackle on the team. As such he's really the most valuable lineman we have on game-day. There is no way Banner or Chucks can play LT well enough not to handicap the passing game.

2 ) He's super durable and has played in every game for the past five years.

3 ) While he is 32 ( With a September birthday ) he sure could be shifted to Right tackle is he slows down a little.

4 ) Last year he did allow 2 sacks which isn't decent for a left tackle. He was flagged 3 times.

http://hosted.stats.com/fb/playerstats.asp?id=27528

So I say the Steelers better draft a tackle and keep Big Al in their short term plans. Al is the type of player who gives his best and takes his profession seriously. Maybe he only plays 1-2 more seasons at Left tackle, but there is no other option. And no, I do not think a rookie will be better than he is at left tackle now. So how much will he get? Guessing, it could be 40 million for 4 years. Is he worth that? That's slightly over paying him but what choice do we have?

I'd have to say no to this. AV was average at best. He got no push in the running game and this entire crappy line gave up very few sacks in 2020, which is more a testament to how quickly Ben got the ball out than about how good the line blocked.

This team has wasted enough time finding the next generation of linemen. Time to bring them in and throw them to the wolves. That means not waiting until the fifth. As much as we all hate the idea of drafting for need, there should be a starter available in the first two rounds. Due to years of neglect, got to grab one. Maybe an interior as well with the first two picks.

[Steel Maniac]

No. He too is done. He's a turnstile out there now.

[steeler_george]

Time to move on, but Money talks.... no way we can sign him
Rather have Feiler and let Chuck-Banner-Rookie-FA battle LT

Another site had an article even refering to sign Beachuam since he was coached by Klemm back in SMU!

[whatever]

Draft a c, g and t with our first 5 picks.
I’d draft a qb with our first also, even if it is little reach. I don’t see a decent one being available in the second when we pick.
Time to take our lumps and get back to basics.

That means no to AV and pouncey

[Iron City Inc.]

AV is a great guy no doubt. Someone will likely offer him a short term deal. He can still play some but his play has slipped of late. Run blocking is just not good yet his pass pro is still okay. He likely is gone.
Can Banner or Okor play on the left side? IDK but if the Steelers feel neither can they'll draft AV's replacement very early.

[hawaiiansteel]

AV is a great guy no doubt. Someone will likely offer him a short term deal. He can still play some but his play has slipped of late. Run blocking is just not good yet his pass pro is still okay. He likely is gone.
Can Banner or Okor play on the left side? IDK but if the Steelers feel neither can they'll draft AV's replacement very early.

this is a good year to do that, it's a very deep strong class for OTs.

[Buzz]

Love AV, but time to move on, and start rebuilding the O-line.

[NorthCoast]

No. Why is this even a question? (unless you are happy with the worst run game in football returning intact).

[Joel Buchsbaum]

Okay, who starts at left tackle? Chucks gave up double the amount of sacks at Right Tackle. He would be worse at Left tackle, I guarantee that.

For whatever reason, the Steelers did not run left much or left outside where Big Al plays. The running game was tolerable for the first third of the season. Even Conner had three 100 yard games. Then the coaches sort of pulled the plug on rushing attempts.

I do not think Villanueva is our best lineman, but he is our most valuable. Well--Maybe he is DeCastro looked like a player on the decline lat year. The next man up for Left Tackle sucks, and saying oh a rookie will play Left Tackle is a hope and one that would require our first round pick. I think we need to keep big Al for a few more years.

Maybe 10 million a season is bit too much a he's making 6.5 million a season, but we need to keep him.

https://overthecap.com/position/left-tackle/

[Chadman]

There will be an emphasis on improving the run game AV doesn’t do that, and at roughly $10m a season, it’s bad value. Is Okorafor better? No. Will Ben still be throwing quick passes next year. Probably. Does that cover Okorafor’s weaker pass blocking? Probably.

I expect an OT to be drafted, no doubt. He will compete with the ‘value’ LT on the roster in Okorafor. The cap situation just about dictates that guys on their 1st contract values need to play. Re-signing guys on inflated contracts, or bringing in FA’s on inflated contracts is extremely unlikely this off season.

[Joel Buchsbaum]

Chucks gave up 4 sacks and 5 penalties as the right tackle in 2020. As the left tackle those numbers will be going up. For those who like PFF's grading system, they Chucksa very low grade. Chucks got the job at Right Tackle due to an injury, he did not earn it. Asking him to be the left tackle is asking for trouble.

It will be interesting to see what the market is for big Al. After thinking about it, it's probably less than 10 million a year. We might be able to re-sign him for his current cap value.

[Northern_Blitz]

Chucks gave up 4 sacks and 5 penalties as the right tackle in 2020. As the left tackle those numbers will be going up. For those who like PFF's grading system, they Chucksa very low grade. Chucks got the job at Right Tackle due to an injury, he did not earn it. Asking him to be the left tackle is asking for trouble.

It will be interesting to see what the market is for big Al. After thinking about it, it's probably less than 10 million a year. We might be able to re-sign him for his current cap value.

I agree that Chucks isn't going to be a great option at LT.

I think we'll got LT with our 1st round pick.

I would love to have AV back if the cap wasn't an issue.

I guess it depends what we think about next season.

If we want to go all in to try to win next year, maybe AV would come back.

But I don't think we're going to win next year. Because the team will be worse (significantly?) than this year. And I think lack of an average to above average LT (which I think AV still is) is a part of that.

But, I'd rather use our cap space to keep the defense together and start the rebuild. I don't want to spend cap space on guys who we would expect to be getting worse next year and the year after. I want guys who are in or before their prime so that they can help carry us through the rebuild. AV isn't that guy (even though I think he's still an average to above average LT).

[NorthCoast]

I agree that Chucks isn't going to be a great option at LT.

I think we'll got LT with our 1st round pick.

I would love to have AV back if the cap wasn't an issue.

I guess it depends what we think about next season.

If we want to go all in to try to win next year, maybe AV would come back.

But I don't think we're going to win next year. Because the team will be worse (significantly?) than this year. And I think lack of an average to above average LT (which I think AV still is) is a part of that.

But, I'd rather use our cap space to keep the defense together and start the rebuild. I don't want to spend cap space on guys who we would expect to be getting worse next year and the year after. I want guys who are in or before their prime so that they can help carry us through the rebuild. AV isn't that guy (even though I think he's still an average to above average LT).

The Steelers have gotten very good value on AV's contract over the years but he's starting to play at the level of his pay. I expect some unknowing team will offer him a contract the Steelers won't want to (can't) match, then it's time to move on especially if their goal is to improve the run game. Note that in Canada's offense it looks like the QB is gonna have to hold the ball longer than 2.1 sec or whatever Roethisberger was releasing it in.