Esteemed OL guru thinks the Pittsburgh Steelers' projected offensive line is the best in five years

Not so long ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers had one of the best offensive lines in the entire NFL.

Headlined by names like David DeCastro, Maurkice Pouncey, and Marcus Gilbert, the group was the foundation of the Steelers' offensive success during the Killer B era.

But recent years saw a rag-tag group of linemen used by the team. Pittsburgh has addressed the deficiencies over the past two drafts and free agency periods and now have what could be their best unit in the last half-decade according to Brandon Thorn.

Thorn Bullish on Steelers Line

"I really like what they've done with the offensive line with kind of the injection of youth," Thorn said on The Athletic Football Show . "I think this has the chance to be the best Steelers offensive line that we've seen since the Foster-Pouncey-DeCastro days. So I think that's what we're seeing here."

Now, Pittsburgh might opt to stick to tradition and make rookie center Zach Frazier and first-round pick Troy Fautanu "earn" their starting role, (which really means sit until the bye week) but recent reports have suggested that may be changing.

The belief is that Broderick Jones will move to left tackle, the position he was drafted to play, meaning rookie first-rounder Troy Fautanu and Dan Moore Jr. will be battling for the starting role at RT.

And while Moore catches some unneeded heat for his play at LT, playing him at RT is just an accident waiting to happen, leading me to believe that Fautanu will buck the trend and start from Week 1.

But the center position is interesting. Nate Herbig ran with the first-team offense for the majority of the spring, and Pittsburgh believes he can truly play the position even though he's a natural guard.

But I'm not sure there is a more ready-made center heading into his rookie year than Zach Frazier. An absolute wrecking ball with a mean streak, his tempo and tenacity alone would be hard to pass on if you're Pittsburgh.

So not only may the team be returning to their roots and have one of the best lines in the business this year, but it will have to come from rookie contributors, something Pittsburgh has been hesitant about in the past.

I bet they change and get things rolling from the jump.