By this point in the offseason, now into the third week of OTAs, every member of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ rookie draft class has received some type of praise from a teammate or a reporter about how good they are looking. Even Keeanu Benton, the second-round defensive lineman whose position is often difficult to get noticed while playing in shorts, finally got his shoutout yesterday from Larry Ogunjobi.
But for as much as he appreciates the compliment—even if it was to be compared to a dancing bear—he knows that it means little right now. He is just taking his cautious first steps on a long journey into the NFL. He has a lot to earn, and a lot to prove.
“You’ve got to gain respect when you come here, and that’s not something I’ve gained yet”, he told reporters yesterday, speaking to the media for the first time since he was drafted, via the team’s media relations department. “I haven’t really put anything on film, but it’s gonna come in time”.
The 49th-overall draft pick out of Wisconsin, Benton could possibly challenge Montravius Adams later this offseason for the starting nose tackle position. Though they have spoken of starting him out in that role, the Steelers envision him as a defender who can play up and down the line.
For now, he joins his rookie draft classmates as the freshmen they are, just looking to find their footing and not get lost. While guys like third-round tight end Darnell Washington and seventh-round cornerback Cory Trice Jr. have attracted positive attention, they understand that OTAs won’t matter by the time you get to training camp. And training camp won’t matter once you get to the regular season—assuming that you’re still on the roster.
As a second-round pick, Benton probably doesn’t have to worry very much about that. The odds are he will have enough guarantees in his contract to make cutting him foolish from a cap perspective. But he will still have to earn his way onto the field. And he’s still earning his way in the defensive line room.
“He don’t really talk much. That’s one of the guys, you have to gain his respect to even talk to him”, the rookie said of Ogunjobi, a seventh-year veteran now in his second season with the Steelers. “I do feel that, and that’s kind of how it was at Wisconsin as well, so it’s nothing I haven’t seen before”.
Cameron Heyward, on the other hand, is definitely a guy who can and will talk to everybody. Right after the Steelers drafted Benton, he was asked on his Not Just Football podcast if he was ready to be a mentor. He said no—he was ready to be a friend.
Fortunately for Benton, he already has some friends in former Badgers teammates on the roster, including 2023 fourth-round pick Nick Herbig, who said that he believed Benton was the best defensive lineman in the draft.
