Entering Year 2, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Keeanu Benton is poised to take a significant leap into a potentially dominant piece in the trenches defensively for the Black and Gold.
Coming off a strong rookie season, Benton is entering his second NFL season ready for a larger role with the Steelers, especially as the Pittsburgh defensive line continues to get older, highlighted by team captain Cameron Heyward, who enters his age-35 season.
After flashing some high-level traits as a rookie and showing some chops as a pass rusher, the future appears bright for Benton on the field ahead of the 2024 season, especially as he continues to improve. Off the field, Benton is looking to take a significant step forward as a leader.
Speaking with Steelers.com’s Missi Matthews from Organized Team Activities, Benton said that he is focused on taking the next step from a maturity aspect and fully embracing his “natural flock” as a leader with guys gravitating toward him.
“Just really taking that next step maturity wise, being a voice that could step up for this team and being that leader who’s more comfortable with this role and expanding my role,” Benton said of what he’s focused on this offseason, according to video via Steelers.com. “So that was my kind of mindset going into this all season is how can I expand my role? How can I get lost guys to listen to me? And it all just came down to being myself.”
Comfort is a big thing for Benton in Year 2. As Heyward stated Tuesday after an OTA session, Benton is more comfortable in his second lap around the track with the Steelers, borrowing a popular Tomlinism in the process.
The Wisconsin product’s rookie season was a bit of a whirlwind, Benton going from being a second-round draft pick who was preparing for the NFL Scouting Combine and the Pro Day testing, to then jumping right into a new organization while trying to learn the scheme and the nose tackle position for the Steelers.
Then, early in the 2023 season, Benton was forced into a larger role for the Steelers once Heyward went down with his groin injury. To Benton’s credit, he adjusted well to the larger role and really put some strong reps on tape.
Now, entering Year 2, expectations are higher. He’s viewed as a key piece, especially along the defensive line. With that comes some responsibility as a leader and a building block on that side of the football.
That leadership aspect comes naturally, Benton believes, even dating back to his time at Wisconsin.
“I feel like I’ve always had like a natural flock, like just my personality and in general, people attracted to me,” Benton said regarding his leadership. “So I was sure to keep those guys at it and the young guys who came in, take ’em under my wing and do what I can do to help.”
Having a second-year pro taking guys under his wing already is huge. That can’t be stated enough.
Benton is still just 22 years old (he turns 23 on July 17), but he is already showing great maturity and is ascending into a leadership role for Pittsburgh. That’s quite impressive, almost as impressive as his play as a rookie.
Hopefully Benton can take that significant leap forward on the field and ascend into a true defensive leader for the Steelers in the process at such a young age, setting Pittsburgh up nicely long term on that side of the football.
