Following each game I will be taking 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 17 vs Seattle Seahawks
Active Players
#77 Broderick Jones (Round 1) – 72 offensive snaps, 6 special team snaps
The running game was strong, gaining over 200 yards and Jones was a big part of that.
After having a couple of rough weeks in pass protection, he was better this week. There seemed to be a little more spring in his step, his punch was quicker, and the placement was good. When he gets his hands on the defender first, he has much better success. Against speed rushes up the arc, he used his length well to hold off rushers. Facing twists and stunts, he handled them more efficiently. He allowed pressure to the inside when he turned to far outside allowing the lane inside.
As a run blocker, there was a lot of success. Jones was solid when pulling to his left and was able to produce a solid push on down blocks. On the front side of zone runs, he sustained his blocks well to displace defenders. He had a solid reach block to produce a running lane and registered a pancake block on an unfortunate defensive back. When climbing to the second level, he was ducking his head at contact and losing sight of the defender.
He played well, as did the rest of the line. Hopefully it will carry over into Week 18.
2023 Regular-Season Totals – 705 offensive snaps, 57 special teams snaps
#24 Joey Porter, Jr. (Round 2) – 47 defensive snaps, 13 special teams snaps, 1 solo tackle, 1 PBU
Like last week, the majority of his coverage snaps came in zone coverage particularly as a deep third-of-the-field defender in Cover Three. Once the Steelers were backed up into the red zone, Porter was more often used in man coverage.
Against the pass, his first target came on the first snap. It was a slant route, but the ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage. The next target came while playing trail-man coverage. He was in the pocket of the receiver but as quarterback Geno Smith began to scramble the receiver separated for a big gain. The next target came on a slant and Porter got turned around giving up an easy reception.
His final targets came in the red zone playing man coverage. On the first, he was able to reach around the receiver at the goal line to break up the pass. Finally, it was a fade route to the corner that the receiver got his hands on the pass on but couldn’t bring it down.
Against the run, Porter wasn’t that active. His tackle came after a broken tackle on another defender, and he wrapped up the running back. He did draw a holding call on running play that called back a big gain.
It wasn’t Porter’s best performance overall but facing DK Metcalf is no easy task.
2023 Regular-Season Totals – 750 defensive snaps, 113 special teams snaps, 43 tackles, 32 solo tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 10 PBU
#95 Keeanu Benton (Round 2) – 22 defensive snaps, 6 special teams snaps, 2 QB hits
Benton didn’t register a tackle for the second consecutive game but was able to get into the backfield multiple times.
As a pass rusher, he started off strong. He used his big club/swim move to smack the center out of the way to get a hit on the quarterback. He had a string of pass rushes that were unsuccessful or he was double teamed. Then he came up with a couple of nice rip moves to get penetration in the backfield. I would like to see him work on his balance when rushing the passer. There are times when he wins initially but loses his balance halting his pass rush.
Against the run, he did a nice job playing a two-gap scheme stringing out runs to the outside and clogging lanes. While playing in a one-gap scheme he got displaced by combo blocks on a couple of plays.
His overall game is solid and should continue to improve.
2023 Regular-Season Totals – 464 defensive snaps, 46 special teams snaps, 33 tackles, 15 solo tackles, 1 TFL, 8 QB hits, 2 PBU, 2 FF
#80 Darnell Washington (Round 3) – 45 offensive snaps, 12 special teams snaps
Washington was used sparingly in the passing game. He was only asked to run four routes. One was a dig route from the slot. The others were all block-and-release routes. Two curls in the middle where he was open and one leak on a bootleg. He was used in pass protection a couple times and won those reps.
Credit goes to Washington as well for the success of the running game. He had a lot of success along with the linemen and had a good push on a Najee Harris touchdown run. He avoided injury when the ball came out and a diving defender bent him backwards. On the fly sweep to George Pickens, he also had a solid block in space. He wins with his strength and size the majority of the time but if he could position himself inside the defender a little more, he could be better.
Watch Washington throw the safety at the 40-yard line.
2023 Regular-Season Totals – 472 offensive snaps, 135 special teams snaps, 10 targets, 7 receptions, 61 yards
#51 Nick Herbig (Round 4) – 2 defensive snaps, 18 special teams snaps, 1 solo tackle, 1 QB hit, 1 FF, 1 FR, 1 sack.
The team only gave him two defensive snaps this week. Herbig accepted the challenge and continued his impressive play despite the limited snaps.
His first snap came in the fourth quarter. He started his rush with a stab to the left tackle before being chipped by the running back. Undeterred, he swiped the tackle’s hands, bent around the edge and knocked the ball out of quarterback Geno Smith’s hand. And just for good measure he recovered the fumble as well. One snap, one sack, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. Impressive.
His second snap came a bit later and he started with speed outside before crossing the right tackle’s face. It had the potential of another pressure, but the pass came out too quickly.
2021 Regular-Season Totals – 178 defensive snaps, 329 special teams snaps, 27 tackles, 19 solo tackles, 5 TFL, 3 QB hits, 2 FF, 1 FR, 3 sacks
#74 Spencer Anderson (7th) – 6 special teams snaps
Anderson was again active with his snaps coming on the field goal team.
2023 Regular-Season Totals – 1 offensive snap, 23 special teams snaps
Rookie 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
Week 15 – OLB Nick Herbig
Week 16 – OLB Nick Herbig
Week 17 – OLB Nick Herbig
Inactive for Week 2 – #21 Darius Rush (Round Five Colts)
Practice Squad – #45 Jack Coletto (UDFA 49ers), #85 WR Duece Watts (UDFA Packers)
Reserve/Injured – #27 DB Cory Trice Jr.
