With Pittsburgh Steelers training camp starting this week, we should get some answers to various questions that surround the 2023 Steelers and what their roster may look like. With a lot of question marks on defense, here are five things we want to find out about Pittsburgh’s defense by the end of training camp.
WHO IS PITTSBURGH’S STARTING SLOT CORNERBACK?
The Steelers did a great job addressing most of their holes on the roster this offseason, using the draft, free agency, and trades to fill out the roster and add several impactful starters for the upcoming season. However, one position that still gives some Steelers fans unease is slot cornerback.
The Steelers brought in CB Chandon Sullivan, who has experience playing in the slot but is coming off a bad year in Minnesota and appears to be more of a lower-level signing to put a guy at the slot than a potential long-term answer. They also have guys like CB Duke Dawson and S Elijah Riley who could factor in there as well as CB Patrick Peterson, who has apparently kicked inside some on sub-packages to get CBs Levi Wallace and Joey Porter Jr. on the field playing outside cornerback.
How Pittsburgh plans to handle the slot cornerback spot in training camp could be quite telling for its plans for the regular season. We will have to see if they go with a committee approach, playing multiple guys or having one specific guy like Sullivan play most of the snaps inside.
WILL JOEY PORTER JR. START OVER LEVI WALLACE?
Much has been made about CB Joey Porter Jr. falling to the Steelers at #32 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, returning to the place where his father had a great career. Many expect Porter to start right out the gate, but veteran CB Levi Wallace may stand in his way of him doing that to start the season.
With Peterson likely holding down one starting cornerback spot in base defense, Porter and Wallace appear to be in a position battle for the other starting spot on the outside. DC Teryl Austin mentioned after the pick that Porter would be expected to contribute quickly and have a chance to start as a rookie, meaning that Pittsburgh is open to letting the best man win.
Some in the building expect Porter to run away with the job given how much Pittsburgh likes him, but Wallace had a career year in 2022 and has been a steady pro with numerous years of starting experience under his belt. It will be a fun competition to watch in training camp with the end result realistically going either way as we sit here today.
WILL PITTSBURGH’S INSIDE LINEBACKERS BE BETTER THAN LAST SEASON?
The Steelers prioritized overhauling their ILB room this offseason outside of ILB Mark Robinson, signing LBs Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts to be projected starters along with Tanner Muse and Nick Kwiatkoski to be reserve/special teamers.
While the Steelers did a good job of overturning a position group that failed to inspire confidence last season, they seem to lack splash in terms of the guys they brought in as replacements. They didn’t go out and get a high-priced free agent and didn’t target a blue-chip prospect in the draft, leaving them in a similar position they have been at inside linebacker the last several seasons: getting average veterans and hoping they are the solutions.
We should find out right away if the inside linebackers will be a better unit than it has been the last couple of seasons. Still, the impact of that change will be telling to see if this unit will hold its own this coming season or if Pittsburgh will experience more of the same with a new group in 2023.
ARE WE GOING TO SEE 2021 LARRY OGUNJOBI IN 2023?
DL Larry Ogunjobi struggled to stay healthy throughout the course last season. He suffered a foot injury in the 2021 playoffs that ended up costing him a lucrative contract with the Chicago Bears as a free agent, signing with Pittsburgh last summer on a one-year pact.
Ogunjobi’s impact in 2022 was noticeably impacted by the foot injury as well as other nagging issues that plagued him throughout the course of the campaign, never being able to fully get healthy until after the season.
However, now Ogunjobi feels refreshed and back to his old self prior to the injury. Should he be able to return to his 2021 form when he posted seven sacks and 12 tackles for loss, Pittsburgh’s decision to re-sign him this offseason will look like a savvy move, pairing DL Cameron Heyward with another impactful starter along the defensive line.
WHAT’S DEMARVIN LEAL’S ROLE GOING TO LOOK LIKE IN YEAR TWO?
One of the biggest questions swirling around the Steelers during the offseason pertained to what DL DeMarvin Leal’s role will be in 2023. Last season, Leal played all over the place, splitting time as a traditional 3-4 DE in Pittsburgh’s base defense while also seeing a lot of action on the outside as a standup edge defender after T.J. Watt went down with a pec injury.
Leal failed to make a big impact on the stat sheet as a rookie, but he flashed the ability to make plays and play all over the defensive front and the skill set to turn that pressure into production with more reps.
Leal currently sits at the weight where Pittsburgh considers him a defensive lineman but won’t hinder his versatility after displaying the skill set to play on the edge last season. The addition of EDGE Markus Golden this offseason should alleviate the need for Leal to see heavy snaps there in 2023 and allow him to develop more as a 3-tech/4i in Pittsburgh’s base defense. Still, we should watch in training camp and into the preseason if Leal is mainly playing as a down defensive lineman, or if he’s getting some run on the edge as well.
