One of the central depth questions for the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason has centered around second-year DeMarvin Leal and what precisely his position is. Coaches have expressed a mixture of uncertainty and indifference about the answer. Karl Dunbar, the team’s defensive line coach, made his opinion pretty clear, however.
“I just call him ‘a big athlete’”, he told Chris Adamski last month during minicamp for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I don’t get into labels or positions. He’s just a big athlete. And when you’ve got big athletes, man, you do whatever you want with them”.
Listed at 6’4”, 290 pounds by the team’s official website, his nominal position is defensive end, yet he has played defensive tackle, outside linebacker, and even some stand-up inside linebacker in select situations, all during his rookie season in 2022.
That’s a lot to ask of somebody just coming into the league, but it’s an identity that it didn’t take him long to embrace. In fact, he has expressed a desire to continue to be employed in a versatile capacity, fitting in where needed.
It’s the most reasonable approach at the moment with no starting position open. Cameron Heyward is still going no matter what members of the media try to say, and the Steelers just re-signed Larry Ogunjobi on a three-year contract. In the middle, Montravius Adams is trying to hold off rookie second-round pick Keeanu Benton, and, well, you know who the edge defenders are.
The odds are that Leal will settle into a role that largely favors the defensive end position, which also encompasses the tackle position that you see in a two-man front within the Steelers’ nickel defense. But we could also see him spend some time on the edge in those and other situational packages such as the goal-line defense.
“He can play inside and he can play outside. Not a lot of guys can do that”, Adamski quoted Dunbar as saying of one of his newer defensive line chess pieces to play with. “To have that ability is great for (Leal) – and awesome for us”.
And therein lies the crux of the matter. Right now, keeping Leal position flexible is in everybody’s best interests because it gives him the best opportunity to contribute. Once he gets onto the field, he can try to carve out a larger and more regular role for himself.
But there is time yet for all of that. Pittsburgh didn’t re-sign Ogunjobi on a whim. They believe he is a fixture of the defense. And nobody is rushing Heyward out the door. But if he can come in and give them a nice breather every game while stealing some snaps here and there elsewhere within the defense, then it will be all for the best for all parties involved. To have a guy you can “do whatever you want with”, I’ll take that problem any day of the week.
