Throughout the season following each game I will take a look at the rookies and how they fared each week. This will consist of thoughts, such as the positive and negatives from that game, areas to watch or work on and clips to support what I’m sharing. Hopefully, this will shed some insight on some things you may or may not have seen.
Week 14 vs New England Patriots
Active Players
#77 Broderick Jones (Round 1) – 70 offensive snaps, 2 special team snaps
For Jones, this game didn’t start out that strong. I think he was surprised a bit by the effort put forth by a two-win team.
As a pass blocker, he had some struggles early. After having a nice rep sustaining his block, he was driven back into the pocket by a speed-to-bull rush. He saw the rush again with the same result being driven back into the pocket. Over the rest of the game, he adjusted well to that type of pass rush. He was solid pushing defenders up the arc but had a rep late in the game where he bent forward and allowed a pressure on a screen play that was nearly intercepted. On jump sets he looked good and handled twists well. He started off slow but was solid the rest of the game.
Against the run, he had similar issues, especially early. He had a chance to make a nice reach block to his left but didn’t make the effort to flip his hips and the defender closed the hole. On a reach block to his right he was better but needs to sustain his block a little longer. He and James Daniels got impressive movement on double-team blocks and Jones was solid on combo blocks. Later in the game he was better on the front and backside of zone runs.
2023 Regular-Season Totals – 516 offensive snaps, 43 special teams snaps
#24 Joey Porter, Jr. (Round 2) – 57 defensive snaps, 9 special teams snaps, 4 solo tackles, 1 PBU
Porter played every snap for the fourth time in the last five games. His pass-coverage snaps had a fairly even split with 17 in man coverages and 16 in zone.
In coverage, he was solid overall, allowing just a pair of receptions and they came on back-to-back plays. The first was in off-man coverage and he pushed the receiver out of bounds after an 11 yards gain. The next play was a dig route in press-man coverage. He had good coverage, but the receiver made a nice catch on a low throw for a 17-yard gain. His third target was on the same drive on a deep target to Juju Smith-Schuster. He nearly notched an interception on his final target on a comeback route.
His two other tackles came on a ball thrown underneath with Porter in zone coverage and on a late fourth quarter run by Ezekiel Elliott. The latter was his lone tackle against the run.
Porter continues to perform well. The near interception came with the Steelers down three late in the game and could have swung the momentum.
2023 Regular-Season Totals – 572 defensive snaps, 82 special teams snaps, 37 tackles, 27 solo, 1 TFL, I INT, 7 PBU
#95 Keeanu Benton (Round 2) – 17 defensive snaps, 2 special teams snaps, 1 assisted tackle
The Steelers’ usage of Benton is perplexing. He has played well all year and in the last three weeks he has played 25 plays or less. I can tell you that while the Patriots scored 21 points, he had just five snaps during that period. He played mostly over the center but had snaps at the 1, 2i, 3 and 4i techniques.
Against the pass, he didn’t have success getting consistent pressure but did mix up his pass-rush moves a bit more. He used a bull rush, rip and was used as the penetrator on stunts to try to free up Elandon Roberts. On a screen play, he showed good recognition but could not make the play as it looked like he was held.
Against the run, his lone tackle came on a nice play to his left. He worked his way through traffic with his eyes up to get in on the tackle. Later in the game he made his way into the backfield on two plays swimming over the center and right guard and had a pair of near misses on tackle attempts. He was good against double teams holding his ground and clogging the line.
2023 Regular-Season Totals – 385 defensive snaps, 32 special teams snaps, 31 tackles, 14 solo, 1 TFL, 6 QB hits, 2 PBU, 2 FF, 1 sack.
#80 Darnell Washington (Round 3) – 30 offensive snaps, 6 special teams snaps, 2 targets, 1 reception, 12 yards
Like his offensive rookie teammate, I think Washington was a little surprised by the effort of the New England defense.
In the passing game, he had a couple of really nice reps in pass protection. As a receiver, he was used three times to block and sneak out of the backfield and ran his other routes, including curl, flat and dig routes. He received two targets; both came in the flat. The first was a nice catch and 12-yard gain for a first down. The second was on a jet sweep pass from Connor Heyward at the 1-yard line that was knocked away. This was the first time he received more than two targets in a game.
Against the run, there was good and bad. Early in the game he got tossed aside by an Edge player, and he also allowed a player to make a tackle when he didn’t position himself well to protect the running lane. Three times he allowed a defender to get inside of him quickly leading to quick stops. One of those plays, Najee Harris popped up and talked to him in what looked like constructive criticism. He was good on the backside of zone runs and had a really nice block on a linebacker downfield driving him out of bounds.
2023 Regular-Season Totals – 384 offensive snaps, 105 special teams snaps, 9 targets, 6 receptions, 53 yards
#51 Nick Herbig (Round 4) – 45 defensive snaps, 25 special team snaps, 7 tackles, 5 solo, 1 TFL.
With injuries to both starters, Herbig was thrust into the action for his most defensive snaps of the year. Primarily playing on the right side for Alex Highsmith, he had a handful of snaps on the left side as well.
Against the pass, Herbig used a bunch of different pass rush moves to try to get to the quarterback. He used a stab, stab and dip, cross face, speed around the edge, loop inside, speed-to-bull, snatch, hesitation, and stab/chop. That last move was his most effective, getting a swipe at the ball in the quarterback’s hand. He was able to get his hands up on a couple pass-rush reps when the quarterback threw in his direction. The length of the tackles when pass rushing was an issue, but Herbig kept his motor going and also drew a holding call.
He had a handful of reps dropping into coverage. He was in the curl drop area on his snap and there was a lot of space outside of him that led to a couple of receptions. A couple of his tackles came in coverage. One working all the way to the far sideline and the other getting off a block to get in on a tackle on a screen.
Against the run, he showed improvement taking on pulling blockers. Instead of trying to duck inside of them leaving the outside open, he took them on properly, forcing the play inside. He was able to help trip up the runner on one such play, and he slipped under a puller on the outside to make a tackle. He also chipped in a tackle on kickoff coverage to help him lead the team in tackles in this game.
2023 Regular-Season Totals – 148 defensive snaps, 272 special teams snaps, 21 tackles, 15 solo, 5 TFL, 2 QB hits, 1 FF, 2 sacks
#21 Darius Rush (Round 5 Colts) – 17 special teams snaps
Rush did not get on the field on defense but did see time on the punt, punt-coverage and kickoff-coverage teams.
2023 Regular-Season Totals – 39 defensive snaps, 20 special teams snaps, 3 tackles 2 solo
#74 Spencer Anderson (7th) – 2 special teams snaps
Anderson did not see the field on offense but did get a couple of snaps on the field goal team.
2023 Regular Season Totals – 1 offensive snap, 9 special teams snaps
2023 Rookies of The Week
Week 1 – NT Keeanu Benton
Week 2 – CB Joey Porter Jr.
Week 3 – NT Keeanu Benton
Week 4 – TE Darnell Washington
Week 5 – OT Broderick Jones
Week 6 – Bye
Week 7 – OLB Nick Herbig
Week 8 – CB Joey Porter Jr.
Week 9 – OT Broderick Jones
Week 10 – NT Keeanu Benton
Week 11 – CB Joey Porter Jr.
Week 12 – OLB Nick Herbig
Week 13 – NT Keeanu Benton
Week 14 – OLB Nick Herbig
Inactive for Week 14 – None
Practice Squad – #45 Jack Coletto (UDFA 49ers), #85 WR Duece Watts (UDFA Packers)
Reserve/Injured – #27 DB Cory Trice Jr.
