As the Pittsburgh Steelers head home after their time at Latrobe, Pa., for training camp, several position battles have a clear leader in the clubhouse. RB Anthony McFarland Jr. is clearly to top dog in the third running back conversation While OL Spencer Anderson continues to make his case to be Pittsburgh’s last offensive lineman kept on the 53-man roster behind the starters and key reserves.
However, with two preseason games to go, there are still a couple of position battles still up in the air. The battle for the slot cornerback position is still going strong between CB Chandon Sullivan and DB Elijah Riley while the battle for the final inside linebacker job between ILBs Tanner Muse and Nick Kwiatkoski will likely come down to the wire as well.
Still, there arguably isn’t a more intense position battle in Pittsburgh this summer than on the defensive line with several guys fighting for a roster spot. Guys like Cameron Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi, Keeanu Benton, and DeMarvin Leal are all locked into roster spots for 2023. After them, the last few spots on the depth chart are up for grabs. DL Montravius Adams, Breiden Fehoko, Isaiahh Loudermilk, and Armon Watts are competing for a roster spot and given that there are eight total names listed in this group, at least one of these players won’t be making the 53-man roster.
Last season, Pittsburgh bucked the old trend of keeping six defensive linemen on the active roster and carried seven on its initial 53-man roster to start the regular season. Given the depth and talent of the group that Pittsburgh has this season, it would be reasonable to expect the same happening this season. Regardless of if Pittsburgh keeps six or seven defensive linemen tough decisions will have to be made regarding who stays and who goes.
Each has their own cases for the 53. Adams has been Pittsburgh’s starting nose tackle the last two seasons, starting 13-of-22 games played. He hasn’t recorded a sack in his tenure with the team, but he has provided burst off the line of scrimmage and brings a sense of urgency to the middle as a gap penetrator. Fehoko is new to the team, fitting the role of a run stuffer that can eat up double teams thanks to his size and strength, making life difficult for opposing offenses wanting to run up the middle.
Loudermilk has slowly developed into a potential contributor along the defensive front, providing solid run defense while working on his strength and athleticism this offseason to the point where Pittsburgh has deployed him on the edge in practice as well as a base defensive end. Watts was brought in this offseason to for a depth/rotational role, having experience playing the nose as well as defensive end. Watts also brings more pass-rush juice to the table, having posted five sacks back in 2021 with the Vikings.
When looking at the assortment of bodies in the defensive line room, a couple things stick out. First, Pittsburgh could decide to keep three nose tackles with Benton, Fehoko, and Adams, which wouldn’t make much sense given the number of snaps the position sees. However, Pittsburgh has had Adams log a fair share of first-team snaps at nose tackle, and Benton would be the player that would best fill his role as that athletic nose tackle should Pittsburgh part ways with Adams.
From the defensive end perspective, it comes down to whether Pittsburgh would want to keep Watts or Loudermilk. Loudermilk is homegrown and is finally starting to show signs of development as a pass rusher while being a steady run defender. However, Watts is the same age as Loudermilk and is a more accomplished pass rusher and offers positional versatility between defense end and nose tackle should the Steelers let one of their nose tackles go or should they deal with injuries up front.
Personally, it would make the most sense for Pittsburgh to part with either Adams or Loudermilk based on the current makeup for the defensive line room as constructed. You could argue for Pittsburgh to keep Loudermilk over Watts, but both are only signed through the 2023 season with the team with Watts having a more accomplished NFL resume. These next two preseason games could go a long way in deciding who sticks on the roster and who gets their walking papers come final cutdowns. Steelers fans should keep close attention on the defensive line this Saturday against the Buffalo Bills as each snap may help or hurt each guy’s case to stick on the 53.
