The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted DeMarvin Leal out of Texas A&M last year believing that he would fit into their defense primarily as a defensive end. While they recognized that his size and athleticism would lend itself to some position flexibility, not even the coaches, surely, recognized how much they would be asking him to take on last year.
According to our own charting from the 2022 season, Leal logged snaps at defensive end, defensive tackle, nose tackle, outside linebacker, and even inside linebacker in a specialized blitz package. That’s basically everywhere you can play in the front seven.
“I definitely did way more than I thought I was, but I was prepared for it”, the former third-round draft pick told reporters yesterday via the team’s website. “I just had to listen and know what I had to do, ask the questions that I needed to ask, and then everything else is gonna take care of itself.”
“It’s definitely different things that I came here and [did], just expended that [much] more athleticism, trying to show a lot more in everything that I do”, he added, saying that he has continued to work in a diversity of roles during OTAs.
Asked if he wants to continue to wear many hats in the way the Steelers deploy him defensively this season, Leal’s question was succinct. “No question”, he said. And really, it’s probably the smart answer from a tactical perspective.
After all, Cameron Heyward is still here and playing at a high level. Pittsburgh just re-signed Larry Ogunjobi to a three-year contract. There’s nowhere for him to start, so he’s going to have to hunt for snaps, wherever he can find them, like a truffle hound.
In actuality, a lot of Leal’s playing time from his rookie season was a byproduct of the pectoral injury outside linebacker T.J. Watt suffered in the first week of the season. The Steelers countered by utilizing four down linemen at times, and even used him in a two-point stance—which also speaks to how much confidence they had in Malik Reed and Jamir Jones, of course.
But what will his defensive playing time look like in 2023? Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said earlier this offseason that there was “no definitive structure” to how Leal would be used, remarks made shortly before the draft. It’s unclear how the selection of Keeanu Benton in the second round subsequently might affect that structure.
It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if he ends up carving out a career for himself as a somewhat positionless super-sub who jumps in and contributes in a variety of different spots. That’s not even any kind of knock relative to his perceived value as a former third-round selection. But right now, it’s the best thing the Steelers can manage for him, and he can manage for himself.
