Entering the offseason the Pittsburgh Steelers had a major need along the defensive line, especially after going through the 2023 season dealing with a significant Cameron Heyward injury that caused the defense to struggle.
Not only was Heyward’s injury an issue, but so was Larry Ogunjobi’s poor play throughout the season and DeMarvin Leal’s lack of development in Year Two. Fortunately for the Steelers, rookie Keeanu Benton emerged as a legitimate building block in the trenches.
But now, so far in the offseason, the Steelers have a major issue along the defensive line, even after re-signing nose tackle Montravius Adams to a two-year deal to ensure an experienced defensive lineman returns for depth.
The Steelers lost versatile defensive lineman Armon Watts to the New England Patriots in free agency and haven’t made a move outside of the organization to add to the group.
By not going outside the organization in free agency to add to the defensive line, the Steelers have missed out on some affordable defensive linemen who certainly could have fit within the picture.
Now, there is largely nobody out there on the free agent market that would be all that impactful on the defensive line that could truly push the likes of Ogunjobi or Leal on the depth chart. It’s not a comforting position to be in.
Sure, the Steelers have plenty of names on the defensive line, including Heyward, Ogunjobi, Benton, Adams, Leal, Isaiahh Loudermilk, Jonathan Marshall, and Jacob Slade, but that’s not exactly a comforting—or encouraging—group.
Heyward showed late last season that he still can dominate an opponent as he did against the Bills in the playoffs. Benton is a piece that Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin stated at the end of the season could be a dominant piece sooner rather than later. But Heyward will be 35 this season, Ogunjobi is 30, and Leal is a player who has quite a bit of work to do after some pointed comments from Tomlin after the season, as well as the report that he showed up to training camp out of shape.
It’s hard to feel good about anything in the trenches right now—and moving forward—outside of Benton.
Of course, GM Omar Khan and the Steelers could address the position early in the 2024 NFL Draft, much like they did landing Benton in the second round in 2023. Names like Missouri’s Darius Robinson, Clemson’s Ruke Orhorhoro, Baylor’s Gabe Hall, Texas’ Byron Murphy, or even Iowa’s Logan Lee could all be Steelers targets and would certainly give the Steelers some much-needed depth in the trenches defensively.
But so far, Khan and the Steelers’ work in free agency along the defensive line—or lack thereof — is concerning.
There is still plenty of time to potentially add another veteran, like former Seahawk Bryon Mone, former Ram Sebastian Joseph-Day, former Colt Taven Bryan, former Texan Hassan Ridgeway, and even former Steeler Chris Wormley.
But the pickings are very slim along the defensive line, and the Steelers have done themselves no favors so far in free agency at the position. Depth remains a major concern for the Steelers at a position that was a need entering the offseason and has not been addressed outside of retaining Adams.
That’s rather concerning.
We’ll see what Khan and Co. have up their sleeves at the position, but right now, it appears that the Steelers are continuing to overlook the trenches after a poor showing from the group as a whole last season.
