When we think about the second-year Pittsburgh Steelers looking to make that classic sophomore leap, the conversation revolves around a couple names. QB Kenny Pickett, naturally, and WR George Pickens, who are looking to build upon the encouraging ends to their rookie seasons. There’s also RB Jaylen Warren, who will see a key role as the team’s third-down back.
Don’t forget about defensive lineman DeMarvin Leal. After an eventful year of injuries, position changes, and the typical grind first-year players experience, he’s looking to add quality depth behind the Steelers’ starting line. Speaking to reporters Thursday, Cam Heyward praised Leal’s progression.
“Leal’s come a long way,” he said via Steelers.com. “Learning the defense. As a rookie, we put a lot on his plate. At times it was a lot, but I think this year he is a lot more comfortable in the situation and depth’s gonna play a big part.”
His rookie year was full of surprises. A surprise opportunity to play after T.J. Watt went down in Week One, creating the need to rely on others to rush the passer. A surprise position change, floating between defensive end and outside linebacker without Watt and with the Steelers’ EDGE depth severely tested. According to our charting, Leal played 38.8-percent of his rookie snaps on his feet, either at outside linebacker and even a couple at inside linebacker against the Buffalo Bills. There was also a surprise injury, a meniscus tear that shelved him for a month midway through his rookie year.
As Heyward said, it was a lot for Leal to handle. While he didn’t look completely lost, he wasn’t productive. He recorded only two pressures all season and his next NFL sack will be his first.
During the summer, Leal looked more like a technician against the run, defeating blocks and making tackles. But his pass rush left a lot to be desired, too often locked up and stuck without a go-to pass-rush move. He’s a tremendous athlete but has had trouble translating that into pass-rush production. Here was our note on him in our post-camp evaluation.
“Still, he’s lacking a go-to move as a pass rusher and gets stuck on blocks way too often for someone as athletically gifted as he his. His pass rush hasn’t matched that talent, and his hand use isn’t refined. If anything, he’s regressed from last season. The Bills game was especially poor against the pass. He’s still only in his second year, has missed time with injuries, and his rookie season was a roller coaster (injuries, position/weight changes, the general chaos of being a rookie) but he needs to show improvement. Fast.”
Pittsburgh does have depth along its d-line, forcing a tough decision to cut NT Breiden Fehoko, whose play was worthy to make it onto the 53-man roster. The team was able to retain him on the practice squad. But there’s a fair question about the ceiling of the Steelers’ depth pieces, names like Isaiahh Loudermilk, Armon Watts, and Leal. On paper, Leal has the highest ceiling, but he’ll have to show he’s more than a big ball of potential in what will be a crucial second year.
