Over the last decade or so in the NFL, the nose tackle position has trended closer and closer toward extinction, and rightfully so. In today’s pace-and-space style of football, mammoth-sized nose tackles who don’t move all that well and just tie up blockers don’t exactly have a true role anymore.
The days of Casey Hampton, Vince Wilfork, Ted Washington and more are all but over.
That doesn’t mean the position hasn’t evolved. Now, nose tackles are a bit smaller and much more athletic, at least in Pittsburgh where the duo of Montravius Adams and rookie Keeanu Benton were quite impactful during the 2023 season.
Adams, though he battled an ankle injury that caused him to miss a number of games, had real flashes throughout the season, displaying a great get-off and impressive quickness on the interior. Benton, a second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Wisconsin, burst onto the scene for the Steelers, showing off a great pass-rush move quickly, winning consistently in the NFL.
The future looks very bright for not only Benton, but the nose tackle position in Pittsburgh moving forward, assuming Adams, a pending free agent, is retained on a relatively cheap deal.
Now that the season is behind us, it’s a time for reflection and analysis, and that will focus on my Steelers positional grades season review. Today, we’ll look at the Steelers’ nose tackles, taking an individual look at the two players who saw snaps at the position: Adams and Benton.
Steelers’ Positional Grades Season Review: QBs
Steelers’ Positional Grades Season Review: RBs
Steelers’ Positional Grades Season Review: WRs
Steelers’ Positional Grades Season Review: TEs
Steelers’ Positional Grades Season Review: OTs
Steelers’ Positional Grades Season Review: OGs
Steelers’ Positional Grades Season Review: C
Steelers’ Positional Grades Season Review: DEs
MONTRAVIUS ADAMS: GRADE — C+
After showing flashes in 2022 for the Steelers along the defensive line, Adams came back for the 2023 season and again showed flashes. Throughout the early portion of the season, Adams looked like a solid rotational piece in the trenches. He played at least 41 snaps in six of the first seven games of the season before going down with an ankle injury in Week Nine against the Tennessee Titans just two snaps into the game.
He missed the next four games before returning in Week 14 against the New England Patriots. Once he returned, he was limited, never playing more than 23 snaps in a game. In those games though, he again showed that quickness and disruptive ability. Late in the season, Adams had four pressures against the Seattle Seahawks on the road and finished with 15 pressures on the year.
Adams graded out at a 58.3 overall from Pro Football Focus, including a 50.5 against the run and a 66.0 against the run. He was much better on tape than those grades show, which is typically the case with PFF. We’ll see if he returns for another season in Pittsburgh. He certainly earned it and showed he can be a valuable rotational piece, but the issues against the run at times were concerning.
KEEANU BENTON: GRADE — B
Entering the NFL, the expectation was that Benton was a ready-made run defender, one who would be a key contributor in that area of the game for the Steelers right away. But then, he stunned everyone with his pass-rush prowess, which didn’t exactly show up on his Wisconsin tape because he wasn’t asked to do it all that much in college.
After Cameron Heyward went down with a groin injury in Week One, Benton was forced into the lineup. Though he had some growing pains, Benton showed just how bright his future is. He saw 483 snaps defensively for the Steelers and finished with a 74.8 overall grade from PFF. At one point in the season, he was consistently one of PFF’s 15 highest-graded rookies in the NFL.
Along with his 74.8 overall grade, he graded out at 57.4 against the run but had a sparkling 80.0 as a pass rusher. Benton generated 22 pressures on the year and really flashed an impressive club/swim move that allowed him to win time and time again on the interior. He also had an impressive bull rush, displaying the eye-opening power that was his calling card at Wisconsin.
Head coach Mike Tomlin stated that Benton can be a dominant force sooner rather than later, which is quite accurate. There is a lot of excitement around Benton moving forward, but he needs to clean up his run defense in Year Two.
