Keeanu Benton has some Stephon Tuitt to his game. He’s hoping to have the same sophomore jump.
The two aren’t identical. Benton is a nose tackle. Tuitt was a defensive end. Benton is heftier and stockier, though slimmed down this summer, and doesn’t have quite the open-field foot space Tuitt did. A man so athletic he probably would’ve chased down Larry Fitzgerald if required.
But where they’re similar are the hips. Both are loose and fluid, able to turn and bend through contact in ways that shouldn’t be possible for their big frames. It’s something not even Cam Heyward is capable of, a power type who goes through more than he goes around.
So it’s possible Benton makes the same second-year jump Tuitt did. As a rookie, both players had one sack. Tuitt broke out in a regular role as a sophomore, ending 2015 with 6.5 QB takedowns. Could Benton do the same?
| Stephon Tuitt Sacks | Keeanu Benton Sacks |
|---|---|
| Rookie Year: 1 | Rookie Year: 1 |
| Sophomore Year: 6.5 | Sophomore Year: ? |
Of course, Tuitt was blocked from seeing playing time as a rookie, as Pittsburgh was still operating under the old-school rules of making rookies sit and learn. Tuitt was hilariously blocked by free agent bust Cam Thomas, the Steelers stubbornly not giving way until late in the year.
Still, Benton wasn’t a starter out of the blocks. He didn’t replace Montravius Adams at nose tackle until mid-way through the year when Adams suffered a leg injury. Knowing that, their rookie snap totals weren’t dramatically different. Benton had 484, Tuitt finished with 397. So, there’s a real comparison to be made here.
Benton created plenty of pressure as a rookie. Our charting marked him tied for the d-line lead with 16 of them and a high per-pressure rate. He just had trouble finishing plays, leaving several sacks on the table. With better refinement and finish and some luck, he could see those sack numbers shoot up. Pittsburgh should also give him more chances. As a rookie, he only rushed out of sub-packages 146 times, with a 6.8-percent pressure rate. Compare that to Larry Ogunjobi’s 318 rush snaps and his 3.8-percent pressure rate. Or Cam Heyward and his 211 rushes and his identical 3.8-percent pressure rate (his injury played a role, obviously).
Based on that, Benton deserves more snaps. Based on his play and progression, he’ll get them. And it could result in a Tuitt-like sophomore year where he pushes north of five sacks and really puts himself on the map.
