Isaiahh Loudermilk isn’t going to get the glitz or glam of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defensive line. He doesn’t have Cam Heyward’s Hall of Fame resume. Or the tantalizing upside of Keeanu Benton. But Loudermilk has steadily improved and become a serviceable rotational player up front. His d-line coach Karl Dunbar credits his hard work for creating a role behind the team’s front three.
“I look at Loudermilk and I see a guy who’s really, really consistent,” Dunbar said via the team’s YouTube channel. “He’s not a splash guy. He does everything. He could play nose tackle. He could play left. He could play right. He runs hard. He does everything you want a young guy to do. I think Loudermilk is only 25 or 26 years old. He’s a staple in what we do and just the hard work paying off of him. That’s what I see with him.”
For the record, he is 27 years old. But Dunbar can be forgiven, Loudermilk just celebrating his birthday last month.
Traded up for in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Loudermilk was valued for his unique build that fits the Steelers’ system. Though he lacks the arm length the team typically covets in a lineman, he had the height, weight, and played in a Wisconsin defense structured similar to Pittsburgh’s.
Early on, his technique was poor, and he played too tall, rendering him ineffective against the run. But he’s grown and improved his pad level, now holding his own against the run. Limited as a pass rusher, there’s still been progress. Loudermilk’s focused on power rushes instead of fooling with finesse moves that don’t work for him. Getting rid of the cross chops to win the edges and focusing on bulls, rips, and push/pulls to win.
In the Steelers’ Monday night win over the New York Giants, he recorded the key pressure that forced QB Daniel Jones to throw the game-sealing interception. As we pointed out in our defensive charting, he is generating a pressure once every 14 chances. The sample size is small but it’s a solid figure and betters his past numbers.
As Dunbar noted, Loudermilk’s versatility is a plus. Per our charting, he’s logged 47 snaps on the right side and 27 on the left. He’s even an option at nose tackle with normal backup Montravius Adams shelved due to a knee injury, though Dean Lowry picked up the only non-Benton such snap in Week 8.
Isaiahh Loudermilk will never be a star. Probably not a full-time starter. But for a Day 3 pick, he’s done well to stick to the roster and carve out a role. A forgotten free agent after this season, he could be brought back on a second contract for 2025 and beyond.
