The Pittsburgh Steelers selected defensive tackle Keeanu Benton with their second of two second-round picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, and with mandatory minicamp now underway, defensive line coach Karl Dunbar provided some updated thoughts on the Wisconsin product, who figures to play mostly nose tackle throughout his rookie season.
“I think Benton could be a nose tackle, he could be a defensive end because he is a big six-three-and-a-half, 315-pound kid who can run,” Dunbar said of Benton on Tuesday, via video on Steelers.com. “And the maturation process is gonna take place to see if he can catch on to what we do because I think he can be physical, because you’ve seen that in college. But will it transfer into pro ball? And that’s the thing we’re waiting on. So, when we get to training camp, that’s the first thing I’ll be looking for.”
The Steelers certainly could use quick development when it comes to Benton and his rookie season. Thus, it will be interesting to hear what Dunbar has to say about the young defensive tackle well after the team’s annual training camp has gotten underway.
During OTA sessions, defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi referred to Benton as a dancing bear due to his athleticism. On Tuesday, Dunbar was asked to give his thoughts on that description of the young player by the veteran, in addition to Benton’s wrestling background, which has been highly publicized since he was drafted.
“Well, I haven’t seen him dance,” Dunbar said of Benton. “I’ve seen him run around and do some things, but I think the thing that he brings to the table with his wrestling background, he understands balance and body control and he can do things. But we haven’t put pads on. Everything has been in shorts and in jersey, so when we get to training camp, you ask me that question. If you can hit somebody in the mouth and move the A-gap, then I’ll be happy.”
Benton will be one of several Steelers players attempting to win the Week 1 starting nose tackle job this summer. That list of players also includes Montravius Adams and two newcomers in Breiden Fehoko and Armon Watts. In short, it will be interesting to watch how the summer battles go at that nose tackle position and if Benton can indeed end up winning the starting job come the start of the 2023 regular season.
The Steelers’ mandatory minicamp ends on Thursday and that means we aren’t likely to hear from Dunbar again until training camp gets underway at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. In the meantime, reports on Benton from players and coaches so far this summer have seemed to be very positive. With that said, and as Dunbar made sure to say on Tuesday, the team has yet to even don the pads in practices. Once the pads and real hitting begins in August, we all should have a better idea of where Benton potentially fits regarding the Week 1 nose tackle depth chart.
