Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 season is getting underway after the team finished above .500 but failed to make the postseason last year, we turn our attention to the next chapter of Steelers football and everything that entails. One thing that it means is that some stock evaluations are going to start taking on more specific contexts as we get into the season, reflecting more immediate plusses and minus rather than trends over long periods. The nature of the evaluation, whether short-term or long-term, will be noted in the reasoning section below.
Player: DL Keeanu Benton
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: Even though he did not play a lot of snaps in the Steelers’ win over the Los Angeles Rams this past Sunday, the rookie defensive lineman made his presence felt. He did not register any official statistics, but he was disruptive in the trenches with limited opportunities. He was particularly successful in the pass rush, generating a couple of pressures.
Slowly but surely, the Steelers’ rookie draft class is coming along. Advertised as one of the best classes they have had in some years, the rookies are beginning to play more, and make more contributions, even if none are formally ‘starters’ just yet.
That may be changing for second-round CB Joey Porter Jr., who played over three-quarters of Sunday’s snaps. Oddly, the team’s other second-round pick saw his workload head in the opposite direction. DL Keeanu Benton played under 20 snaps against the Los Angeles Rams, but he made them count.
He was most noted for his efforts by registering two quarterback hits, including one with some friendly fire, so to speak. He dished out a great club move against former Steelers G Kevin Dotson, now starting for the Rams, easily winning the rep and getting into the backfield to his QB Matthew Stafford as he threw.
Thus far during his rookie season, Benton has logged 159 snaps. His snap share has been a bit too erratic to identify any clear patterns in terms of trajectory, but it will naturally vary somewhat based on the game plan and circumstances.
He played a career-low 19 snaps against the Rams, not a great surprise working against a team that so heavily operates with three wide receivers on the field. While he did not register a tackle himself, his work in the trenches did help contribute to others making plays.
What’s next for the rookie, however? Will the coaches get him more playing time? Just before the bye week, they were starting to flex him out, getting snaps in a traditional 3-4 defensive end role. Previously, he had only played nose tackle, and in nickel fronts. His effectiveness in limited opportunities demands that he see more action to gauge whether that productivity can be sustained over a larger body of work.
