Dating back to OTAs and mandatory minicamp, Pittsburgh Steelers third-year defensive lineman DeMarvin Leal seemed like a different player — in a good way.
Entering a pivotal year in his NFL career, Leal found his “professional footing,” got his body right and was more comfortable in the playbook. That led to a very strong spring that earned him quite a bit of praise from defensive line coach Karl Dunbar.
The question was, could that carry over into training camp. Then, Leal did just that, getting off to a fast start in camp, turning some heads and generating quite a bit of buzz. Ultimately, it became a question of translating that to in-stadium situations.
Leal checked that box last Friday against the Houston Texans in the Steelers’ preseason opener.
He played 33 snaps defensively and finished with three tackles and a sack, showing good hand usage and power at the point of attack, letting his athleticism play on the interior, too.
Against the Texans, Leal graded out at an 81.2 overall from Pro Football Focus, including a 72.8 against the run and a 72.3 as a pass rusher. He generated three total pressures on the night, too.
It was a solid performance overall at first glance, and the All-22 tape solidified that. Let’s dive into the tape.
Leal’s technique, particularly his hand usage, was an issue in Year 2. He couldn’t get off blocks last season, largely due to his inability to stay clean with his initial hand usage.
He’s worked on that throughout the offseason and showed he can translate into games.
On his first play of the game, Leal made an impact as a run defender.
Good initial punch into the chest of the offensive lineman to stay clean. Then he is able to swim the blocker’s hands down and get underneath him to get into the hole.
Though he doesn’t get credited for the tackle, working his way into the backside hole and cutting off the cutback lane was good work from Leal.
Very next rep, Leal does a good job again of using his hands, gaining control and clogging things up.
He shows some good leg drive here, too, pushing the blocker into the hole, blowing things up.
We never really got to see much power from Leal last year, but he’s flashed it quite a bit in training camp and did so here against the Texans. When he gets his hands on you lately, he’s winning the rep. That’s been a big emphasis for him, and it was great to see it show up in-game.
Where the hand usage with Leal really showed up against the Texans was on his sack of quarterback Davis Mills in the second quarter.
In the past, Leal had just relied on his athleticism to win as a pass rusher, not really having a plan of attack. While that’s still in development, it was good to see him use his hands to work himself free and finish with a flurry for the sack.
Good job here of getting his inside hand on the blocker’s chest, keeping the blocker at a distance while allowing him to see into the backfield and see what was developing.
Once he reads Mills rolling right, Leal works the rip underneath with his inside hand, working himself free and taking him right to Mills for the big sack.
Later in the game, Leal showed a good club as a pass rusher to knock the blocker’s hands away and then had the speed and athleticism to turn the corner for the pressure.
That’s a good plan of attack for Leal.
He knows pre-snap lined up shaded outside of the guard that he wants to work the club based on what the guard had been doing. Leal times the snap well, waiting for the guard to throw his hands. Once he sees it, he hits the club perfectly, chopping away the lineman’s hands, giving him a clean rush.
From there, Leal’s speed and athleticism take over, allowing him to get up field and turn the corner for the pressure.
Fortunately for the Texans, it was a quick-hitter, allowing Mills to get rid of the ball in a hurry. If not, Leal has his second sack of the game.
Finally, this was my favorite clip from Leal. It’s not a pressure. It’s not his sack. But this one stands above the rest for me.
At times last season Leal was pushed around against the run. This season, at least against the Texans, he fought his tail off and held up very well.
He is so quick off the ball here and knows what’s coming. He’s able to swim the first blocker and still stay square in the hole. He takes on the second blocker and has the strength to hold up at the point of attack, clogging things up.
Watch how he’s still searching for the ball in the process, too. He’s essentially two-gapping here on the second block. He finds the ball and gets his head play side and gets in on the tackle after a short gain.
That’s a very encouraging rep from Leal, who has had some questions about his weight and strength in the NFL along the defensive line. It was against backups and roster bubble guys, but Leal proved his worth in the preseason opener, building on a very strong spring and a good start to training camp.
Very clearly, the arrow is pointing up for Leal.
