Pro Football Focus released a full list of rookies from the 2023 NFL season and where they ranked according to PFF’s grading system among their position groups leaguewide. The minimum threshold to be given a rank was playing at least 20 percent of the team’s total snaps at the position.
For the Steelers, OT Broderick Jones, CB Joey Porter Jr., DT Keeanu Benton, and TE Darnell Washington all met the threshold, qualifying for these rankings.
Jones started his first game in Week Five at left tackle due to an injury to Dan Moore Jr. In Week Nine, he took over for Chukwuma Okorafor at right tackle and held that job through the end of the season. He ended up logging 766 snaps and received a 60.7 overall grade from PFF. That ranked 60th out of 89 eligible tackles. Jones struggled down the stretch of the season as a pass blocker but excelled while blocking in the run game. The Steelers rushed for 79.7 yards per game through the first eight weeks of the season. From Week Nine and on, with Jones at right tackle, the Steelers rushed for 145.2 yards per game. That is an 82-percent increase in production over the back half of the season.
Porter received his first start in Week Eight due to an injury to Levi Wallace. He held onto the job from that point forward and shadowed some of the league’s top wide receivers in the process. He logged 806 total snaps on defense and received a 66.5 overall grade from PFF. That ranked 60th out of 133 eligible corners. PFF’s Amelia Probst wrote:
“Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. let up a low open-target rate (28.3 percent) in coverage. He allowed just 24 receptions and one touchdown.”
Given the level of competition he was up against, Porter fared extremely well and will be a building block of the defense for years to come.
The team’s latter second-round selection, Benton, ended up playing 483 defensive snaps in his rookie season. He ranked 25th out of 142 eligible defensive linemen with a 74.8 overall grade from PFF. He started nine games and appeared in all 17, logging 36 combined tackles, 16 solo tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, eight QB hits, two forced fumbles, and two passes defensed. He utilized a club-swim move with great success and showed a lot of promise as an interior pass rusher. PFF’s Amelia Probst wrote:
“Keeanu Benton ranked tied for 12th in pass-rush grade among interior defenders (80.0). He generated 22 quarterback pressures on 270 pass-rush snaps.”
Don’t let the one sack fool you; Benton was productive as a pass rusher.
Washington saw a ton of work right away as an extra blocker at the tight end position. The Steelers wanted to run the ball, and one of the ways they did that was by utilizing multiple tight ends. Pat Freiermuth was out injured for the middle portion of the season, but Washington still wasn’t used very much as a receiving threat despite limited options at the position. He played 509 total offensive snaps and received a 49.8 overall grade from PFF. That ranked 85th out of 96 eligible tight ends.
He finished the season with seven receptions on 10 targets for 61 yards, but his blocking was another reason for the Steelers’ rushing success down the stretch of the season. Getting him more involved in other aspects of the offense will be a priority moving into the 2024 offseason.
