For the first time since before 2010, the Pittsburgh Steelers are set to play a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in which Tyson Alualu is no more than a spectator. Drafted in the first round by the Jaguars, he spent seven seasons there before signing with the Steelers in 2017 and playing six more seasons. Now retired, he’s gearing up to watch his two old teams square off—with strong opinions about who will win.
But what he’ll be watching closest should not surprise you. A former defensive lineman, he will be watching what’s going on in the trenches—not just his former teammates, like Larry Ogunjobi and Montravius Adams, but also the newcomers. He has been particularly impressed with rookie Keeanu Benton.
“I’m paying attention to what they’re doing on the field and how much of a factor they are in making this defense go”, he told Cameron Heyward on the latter’s Not Just Football podcast. “It’s exciting to watch Keeanu play well as a rookie. It’s already tough as it is playing [defensive tackle] in this league, but for him to have the success and winning his one-on-one matchups whether versus the run or pass, it’s good to see. He’s definitely the future of playing the interior d-line”.
Of course, that is what he was drafted to be. The 49th-overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, he is the earliest lineman the Steelers have drafted since 2012 when they took Stephon Tuitt. Benton has seen a steady stream of snaps throughout the year, largely due to Heyward’s injury, from which he has still not returned.
Having logged 159 snaps on defense through six games, Benton is getting more than a third of the Steelers’ snaps. He actually saw a career-low 19 snaps on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, however, a team that heavily relies on 11 personnel, and thus forces defenses to counter with nickel and dime packages.
While he did not record an official statistic during the game, he was successful in limited opportunities as a pass rusher. Twice he was able to get to QB Matthew Stafford, hitting him as he threw. He has four quarterback hits on the season, including one sack, along with 13 total tackles and a forced fumble.
His game tape is a better resume for him than his stat sheet, a not uncommon phenomenon for 3-4 defensive linemen. He routinely wins his one-on-ones, as Alualu noted, and they can affect plays in ways that don’t show up on stat sheets.
And there may be another hidden contribution he has made this year: Adams is playing much better than he did last season. How much could that be attributed to his being pushed by the rookie? Many thought that he might not even make the team, but he has done an admirable job on the whole. Just ask Alualu, who said that he’s causing havoc this year.
