For the second straight season, the Pittsburgh Steelers watched a star player on a loaded defense go down with an injury that will keep him out awhile.
Last season, T.J. Watt partially tore his pectoral muscle and missed seven games. On Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, star defensive lineman Cameron Heyward hurt his groin and will undergo surgery in the coming days, which will keep him out up to eight weeks.
Without Watt last season the Steelers were a mess defensively as the depth behind the 2021 NFL Defensive Player of the Year and Alex Highsmith at outside linebacker was nowhere near good enough. Good news for the Steelers in light of the disappointing, deflating Heyward injury is that the defensive line depth is in a much better spot that the outside linebacker depth was a year ago.
Head coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday during his weekly press conference that young guys like DeMarvin Leal and Keeanu Benton are going to have to step up, and that a veteran like Armon Watts is in the mix to get to get opportunities in the trenches.
For former Steelers cornerback and current scout Ike Taylor, it’s time for the young players like Leal and Benton to seize upon their opportunities and step up to replace Heyward.
“Now is the time. Just looking from training camp and you saw Cam on ice due to his age and getting ready for the regular season, the young guys were getting reps in training camp and the preseason. Now is the time,” Taylor said to Bleav in Steelers co-host Mark Bergin, according to video via Bergin’s YouTube page. “You didn’t want now to be the time, but now is the time. When you talk about having depth, that was one of the positions that the Pittsburgh Steelers had depth. …It sucks that it’s Cam and we understand how important Cam is, but when you talk about having that kind of depth and where, it’s important to have that depth there and we do.”
The Steelers certainly feel good about the depth that they have in the trenches defensively, as Taylor points out. Names like Leal and Benton are going to be key moving forward, as is Watts, who was inactive against the 49ers last Sunday. Along with Watts, a veteran player like Breiden Fehoko could be signed to the 53-man roster from the practice squad, giving the Steelers a run-plugging defensive tackle to put on the field on early downs.
Isaiahh Loudermilk handled some snaps on Sunday as well, though he struggled as a run defender again. Montravius Adams was up and down against the 49ers too, though he flashed as a pass rusher. It’s going to come down to Leal and Benton though.
Benton was the second-highest graded rookie in the NFL in Week One by Pro Football Focus and looked quite good in 29 snaps. Leal looked rather strong in 26 total snaps, too, making an impact as a run defender.
Pittsburgh has invested in the trenches defensively the last two offseasons, adding Larry Ogunjobi as a free agent last year before signing him to a three-year deal in free agency this offseason. They also drafted Leal in the third round in the 2022 NFL Draft and added Benton in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Loudermilk is just two years removed from the Steelers trading into the fifth round to get him in 2021. Watts has played 1,713 snaps in the NFL to date, too.
Pieces are in place. It’s going to be nearly impossible to replace the Hall-of-Fame talent in Heyward for an extended stretch, but depth is in good shape. Now it’s time for the young players to grab hold of the opportunity and run with it.
