The Pittsburgh Steelers did a nice job at filling most of their obvious roster holes throughout free agency and the 2024 NFL Draft. But the defensive line, and particularly the depth in that unit, could turn into a major issue for the team if any of the starting three go down. Cameron Heyward was injured for much of last season, and Larry Ogunjobi is on the wrong side of 30. If it isn’t an issue in 2024, it will almost certainly be a top priority moving into the 2025 offseason.
They addressed the depth with the addition of veteran DL Dean Lowry, but he was placed on the ACTIVE/PUP list to start camp. That leaves the defensive line depth thin and in the hands of guys like Isaiahh Loudermilk, Logan Lee, and DeMarvin Leal. Lee is a rookie, and Loudermilk and Leal were trading places as game day inactives last season.
What would it mean for the defense in 2024 (and beyond) if a guy like Leal could turn things around in year three? The early reports out of training camp indicate that might be a possibility.
In Alex Kozora’s day one training camp diary, he noted that Leal stood out to him the most during the run defense sessions.
“It was DL DeMarvin Leal who popped the most to me in run session. One step but good start for him.”
Then on day two, Kozora reported on X that he continued to impress.
These reports weren’t unique to Kozora’s perspective, either. He was drawing rave reviews from several beat reporters on-site at practice.
This is a stark contrast to where Leal was at a year ago at this time when Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that he showed up to camp out of shape and without “urgency to develop.” Perhaps spending five of the last six games of the season, including the playoff game, as a healthy scratch on game day created a sense of urgency.
After one of the spring practices, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin weighed in on Leal’s progress in year three.
“[Leal] was a little bit more up and down,” Austin said of Leal last season via the team website. “But [he’s] looked outstanding. Marv looks like he’s in great shape. Really runs through the ball. Really doing some good things. It’ll be a big year for him.”
And then Leal himself said he feels there is a “good chance” he puts it together in year three.
Leal was a third-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Besides Keeanu Benton (second round) last year, Leal is the highest investment the Steelers have made in their defensive line since Javon Hargrave in 2016. His trajectory through the first two seasons suggested the Steelers would need to make a major investment in free agency or the draft next offseason, but they might be able to hold off if Leal finally gets back on track.
The pads haven’t come on yet, so I’m not ready to anoint him a breakout candidate or anything of that nature yet. But this is a night-and-day difference from a year ago and leaves plenty of room for optimistic folks like myself to get excited.
