Ever since the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted DL DeMarvin Leal in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, there have been questions about his ideal position fit. He was a little too lean to be the ideal size for a defensive end and a little too big to reasonably be an outside linebacker. They ran into this issue early on in his rookie season when T.J. Watt went down with an injury. He played 69 total snaps at outside linebacker that season compared to his 99 snaps along the defensive line.
That further fueled the confusion on what exactly the plan was for him in the long run. He didn’t take a big step up in his snap totals in year two, as he reportedly showed up to camp out of shape. He only played 206 snaps on defense last season, but only 15 of them were aligned as an outside linebacker. That cleared up where they intended on playing him, but his future with the team seemed very much in jeopardy after being a game-day inactive for six games in 2023, including five of the last six and the playoff game against the Buffalo Bills.
Entering year three, he seems to have shown up to camp in the best shape of his life and with a renewed focus on football. Multiple coaches have praised his preparation and tenacity at practice. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin even said, “he can be a guy for us” during Sunday’s media availability.
Leal has played a lot of outside linebacker again over the last week of practice, once again raising questions of his fit with the team. Austin cleared that up on Sunday when speaking to the media.
“He’s shown some flexibility, he’s really good. He’s a really good athlete, and he’s a big man,” Austin said of DeMarvin Leal in a transcript provided by the team. “He’s shown some things there, but it’s like anything. It’s hard. You spread them too thin, and then you’re not getting what you want out of them. So, his main position is still an inside guy, but he has the flex to move out.”
The Steelers highly value positional versatility, but at a certain point—especially for young and inexperienced players—it can hurt them more than help them. It is good to hear Austin is conscious of this with Leal. It is also good to get clarity on what they view him as, which is an interior defensive lineman. Ideally, anywhere from a 3-tech to a 5-tech player at his size.
He played 33 snaps on defense during the first preseason game. Only one of them was aligned as an outside linebacker. He earned a very solid score from Pro Football Focus with a 81.2 overall grade. That was the fifth-best grade for the Steelers in that game.
Leal’s sudden emergence in year three could end up being one of the biggest storylines of the season in terms of its impact on future roster construction. With Cameron Heyward’s contract still up in the air, the future of the defensive line is one of the top issues to address next offseason. If DeMarvin Leal turns into a solid starting-capable player, that gives the Steelers much more flexibility entering next offseason. As we saw in the 2023 NFL Draft, teams often have to reach for 3-4 defensive ends because there simply aren’t that many people on the planet that fit the archetype for that position.
