Needing to add some youth and talent in the trenches defensively, it sure looks like the Pittsburgh Steelers might have hit a home run — again — along the defensive line in the NFL draft, thanks to Wisconsin.
That’s referring to rookie defensive tackle Keeanu Benton, whom the Steelers landed at No. 49 overall in the second round of April’s 2023 NFL Draft.
Through three weeks in the NFL, Benton has looked like quite the find for the Steelers, and he put together his best performance of the young season in primetime on Sunday night in Las Vegas. Benton recorded his first NFL sack in the 23-18 win, showing the ability to learn and apply those lessons quickly on the field, and putting on display his absurd power for the entire NFL landscape to see.
Benton finished with one tackle, one sack, one quarterback hit and graded out at an 81.1 overall from Pro Football Focus in Week Three, marking the second time this season that Benton graded out in the 80s from PFF. Benton added two total pressures and put together a sparkling 89.0 pass rush grade from PFF on just 21 total snaps, 16 of which were pass-rush reps.
Let’s dive into the film and look at the rookie’s rather impressive showing.
Late in the first half, Benton started to hit his stride as a pass rusher.
On T.J. Watt’s second sack of the game, Benton did a great job looping around on the twist with DeMarvin Leal on the inside, taking away Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo’s lane to step up into the pocket, keeping him at the right depth for Watt to finish him off for the sack.
At 6-foot-4, 317 pounds, Benton moves extremely well for his size. That wrestling background from high school continues to show up on tape with his loose, fluid hips and explosion with his lower half.
He doesn’t get credit for anything on the stats sheet here on Watt’s sack, but it’s a good job of twisting quickly and getting into the rush lane to hold Garoppolo in the pocket.
When everything works in unison in the pass rush, it’s a thing of beauty.
In the second half, Benton really started to come into his own, showing the ability to learn from one play to the next and apply those lessons.
With the Raiders driving in the third quarter, Benton tried to hit Las Vegas center Andre James with a quick club/swim to win on the interior.
Benton was off balance slightly, taking away his shot at really winning the rep. His right foot is just off within his get-off, which causes him to be a bit off balance, taking away any chance at him getting upfield and hitting the swim move properly. James wins the rep in the end, but Benton learned from it.
One play later, Benton hit the same move, this time with good footwork and a strong base underneath him.
That led to his first career sack.
His hips are so loose and quick. It’s quite remarkable to watch.
Guys his size shouldn’t move the way that he does. Benton moves very well though and showed James just how explosive he is on the interior.
Throughout his time at Wisconsin, we didn’t really see this from Benton as a pass rusher as he had just 9.5 sacks in four years with the Badgers. It’s an important lesson to remind people with the draft process that just because a player doesn’t show something doesn’t mean he can’t do it. Benton just wasn’t asked to do it, but now in Pittsburgh he has a bit more freedom to rush the passer and collapse the pocket.
He’s taking advantage.
After his first career sack, Benton really started to become a problem for the Raiders. His confidence grew and he really got after it.
Two plays after his sack once the Raiders changed sides of the field, Benton drew a key holding call on Raiders left guard Dylan Parham, a guy that he would come to dominate later in the game.
Though Benton tries to hit the swim move and fails, his ability to transition into a power rush is quite impressive here. He walks Parham back with pure strength and draws the holding call in a big spot.
While the sack earlier in the game was a great pass rush, the one rush he had on Markus Golden’s sack was even better.
That looks like a young Cameron Heyward with the long arm and the power within the bull rush. Poor Parham.
After getting his tail kicked by Heyward last year on Christmas Eve, Parham got whooped by Benton on the night.
What a rush by Benton. That’s teach tape right there. Great conversion to power in the rush, good hand placement and then look at the ability to lock out and put Parham on skates. Benton should get credit for half a sack there because he created the entire situation.
For good measure, Benton finished off his night with another display of his power, tossing aside James to get a quarterback hit on Garoppolo.
You don’t see defensive linemen tossing aside offensive linemen that easily in the NFL, but that’s a good example of just how strong Benton is at the point of attack.
It doesn’t look like much of a rush early on, but he keeps his eyes in the backfield and capitalizes on the opportunity, tossing James aside and getting a hit on Garoppolo, leaving a mark once again.
In just his third game in the NFL, Benton made the case — again — for more playing time in the trenches, especially with Heyward on Injured Reserve.
When he gets an opportunity, he is capitalizing in a big way. He looks like quite the find through three games for the Steelers. The future is very bright, especially as he continues to put it all together.
