Last season, Pittsburgh’s top two rookies made immediate contributions as WR George Pickens got going in the first four games of the year while QB Kenny Pickett came in at halftime in Week 4 against the New York Jets. He proceeded to start every game the rest of the season that he was healthy for.
The rest of the 2022 draft class didn’t make as notable of an impact. DL DeMarvin Leal spent time on IR due to a knee injury as well as WR Calvin Austin III, who missed his entire rookie campaign due to a foot injury suffered in training camp. TE Connor Heyward contributed in a limited role on offense and special teams while LB Mark Robinson failed to see much action until the end of the season when he got some work against the Ravens and Browns and their run-heavy offensive attacks.
Pickett and Pickens project to see their roles continue to expand in 2023, but the outlook of the rest of the draft class has yet to be determined. When looking at the guys on the defensive side of the football, Leal and Robinson look to play reserve roles behind established starters. However, if we had to pick one who will make a bigger impact this season, who would it be?
Both players have their arguments. Leal missed time last season due to injury while Robinson was mostly a healthy scratch and special teamer for his rookie season. Leal is a versatile chess piece along the defensive line who can play inside and outside, allowing him to get mixed in various defensive packages with the defensive front. Robinson, on the other hand, is more limited in his usage as that classic two-down thumper that DC Teryl Austin mentioned is likely another year away from competing for a starting job. The team also signed LB Nick Kwiatkoski to add more veteran experience to the room behind Elandon Roberts and Cole Holcomb.
In Robinson’s defense, the ILB room is far weaker than the DL room and a strong training camp from Robinson combined with a potential injury to one of the guys in front of him could lead to an elevated role sooner than imagined. Meanwhile, it’s hard to picture a starting role coming for Leal with the likes of Cameron Heyward and Larry Ogunjobi in front of him as well as Armon Watts, Keeanu Benton, Isaiahh Loudermilk, and others vying for snaps in sub packages as well as in Pittsburgh’s base defense. Leal is also often seen as a tweener and may be tapped out as a rotational defensive lineman with the prospects of becoming a starter one day out of the cards.
As we sit here today, neither Robinson nor Leal are projected to be starters on Pittsburgh’s defense in 2023. However, both guys have their arguments to contribute more this season than they did during their rookie campaigns. Factoring out potential injury, I would argue that Leal has the better case to make a bigger impact this season due to the need to rotate more defensive linemen upfront whereas the LB corps is fairly established unless a guy goes down. The front office has also stood by Leal the entire offseason, praising his athleticism and versatility as a guy who can play inside and outside while also possessing upside as a pass rusher.
Leal may not have a breakout season in 2023, but I do expect his role and production to increase and be more notable than Robinson, who the coaching staff has mentioned is still raw and needing additional seasoning before being ready to contribute regular snaps on defense. Either way, training camp and the preseason will go a long way in showing us if Leal, Robinson, or both are ready to take that step forward in their second seasons in the league.
