The Pittsburgh Steelers bolstered their defensive line Monday, GM Omar Khan telling reporters they were signing veteran DL Dean Lowry. Essentially the replacement for Armon Watts, who took a one-year deal with the New England Patriots. Pittsburgh has a need for d-line depth and Lowry is its first stop in that mission. Even if he’s not the long-term option (and he isn’t), did the Steelers get better? Or worse?
Let’s break his tape down. We’ll produce scouting report blurbs, the good and bad, and show clips of his run defense and pass rush.
Run Defense
Lowry Scouting Report
– Shows upper-body strength to hold point of attack in run game
– Ability to two-gap, get head across block to change running back’s path
– Can stack and shed to close run lanes
– Capable of shooting and filling gap in one-gap scheme
– Shows proper hand placement in run game with good punch
– Able to force running backs to bounce runs outside
– Can be slow to shed, lacks explosiveness to defeat block and a tick late to close lane
– Tendency to pop up off the ball and doesn’t show consistent pad level, causing him to be too easily moved and washed
– Average snap timing and explosiveness
To the tape we go. Overall, his run defense was solid and at the level the Steelers need from a backup rotational lineman. Lowry has the size the Steelers look for, coming out of Northwestern at 6056, 296 pounds, though his 31-inch arms are atypical for Pittsburgh and for his frame.
Still, he shows a strong upper body and ability to play the run. He can hold the point of attack, stack and work off blocks, and traditionally two-gap. Watch him here hold both gaps, getting his head across as the back makes his initial decision, and turn the backs inside as he fills the B gap. One of the best reps I saw of his. He is No. 94 in this and all the other clips in this film room.
A couple general clips showing him being able to hold the point of attack.
And some of him penetrating in a one-gap scheme, including blowing up TE Ko Kieft (a tight end, I know, but a great blocking one) along with some gap-shooting to secure his lane.
But Lowry’s lack of length is an issue, and it hinders him being able to quickly shed and get off the block, even if his placement and punch allow him to shed and not get glued. He also can play tall and high, allowing blockers to leverage and wash him. Examples of that against Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata.
Pass Rush
Lowry Scouting Report
– Semi-effective bull rush with proper hand placement to collapse pocket
– Shows good chase to the football
– Experienced and asked to drop into hook zone in coverage, good enough athlete to do it
– Lacks pass-rush arsenal and too often leans on blockers on his bull rush
– Doesn’t show finesse moves or advanced hand use
– Wasn’t utilized in obvious pass situations or sub-packages (Brian Flores’ exotic/amoeba fronts)
– Very limited sack production last two seasons
– Isn’t quick off the ball
Don’t look for much help here. On the positive side, Lowry shows good punch placement and can occasionally create movement and power on his bull, walking the left guard back here in the first clip, leading to an interception. You see a similar punch though less significant collapse in the second clip.
But beyond that, Lowry doesn’t impact things. His only move is his bull and that even works only half the time, otherwise leaning on blocks and posing little threat. There’s no finesse component to his game, at least not in the 2023 tape I observed. And he’s too often stuck and stalls out immediately, an overall non-threat. Couple of examples.
In Brian Flores’ unusual system that had the highest Cover 0 and drop eight rates in football, it asked Lowry to drop into coverage a handful of times, similar to Dick LeBeau’s Fire Zone wrinkles that would pop out a nose tackle (sometimes even Casey Hampton, a sight to see). Cutups of that from three separate games.
Usage
Lowry Scouting Report
– 237 total defensive snaps in 2023 (82 right defensive end, 71 right defensive tackle, 51 left defensive tackle)
– Experienced as a true 5-tech in 3-4 front, typically played RDE, kicked to left side as three-tech in nickel packages
– 2023: 14 tackles, zero sacks in nine games (four starts)
– Career: 120 games (84 starts) 23 TFL 15.5 sacks
– Turns 30 in June
– Tore pectoral in November 2023, missed rest of season, released by Vikings this offseason entering second and final year of contract
Lowry is an old-school five-tech, a defensive end outside shade the offensive tackle. Something Pittsburgh barely even does anymore, usually playing inside shade or as a three-tech. Screenshot of what I mean. Also important to note most of his work came on the right side, the side Cam Heyward plays on (and where Watts played 79 snaps last season, though he played more on the left).
In sub-packages, he usually kicked inside to left defensive tackle as the three-tech.
He did not play in obvious pass situations or packages. The Vikings had a funky defensive setup with amoeba looks and Lowry wasn’t part of those. His job was to stop the run. At least until he tore his pec and was placed on IR right before Thanksgiving.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Dean Lowry doesn’t make the Steelers a young bunch, something they need with a 35-year-old Heyward and 30-year-old Larry Ogunjobi. But he does serve as a fine backup run defender to log 20-ish total snaps per game, just as Watts generally did last season. In many ways, he’s an older Isaiahh Loudermilk, right down to the awkward body type, tall with short arms (Loudermilk is 6063 with 32 5/8-inch arms). And probably a bit better against the run.
Pittsburgh still lacks great pass-rush juice in its backup defensive ends and that remains a concern. The silver lining is a second-year Keeanu Benton, who should be playing much more in sub-packages this year, especially if Heyward and Ogunjobi get hurt. But in Pittsburgh’s mission to curtail Heyward’s snaps, always its goal and never the outcome, Lowry doesn’t solve much of that. Assuming the money is cheap, and it is, I have no complaints here, so long as the team recognizes there’s more work to be done.
