While speculation mounts about the Steelers taking a quarterback, the defensive line still looms. It’s true that they invested a second-round pick on the position just two years ago, but is that enough? The last time they used a first-round pick on the defensive line was in 2011.
That worked out pretty well, as the defensive lineman the Steelers drafted was Cameron Heyward. In fact, he’s still here, and they’re hoping to net his successor. On the eve of the draft, they figure to have a good shot at Derrick Harmon or Kenneth Grant. Despite the depth of the class here, Ray Fittipaldo cautioned against expecting to land a starter later in the draft.
“You don’t want to wait too long” to address defensive line, the Steelers beat writer said. “D-line is an important spot. I wouldn’t want to count on a third- or fourth-round pick to develop into a starter. They’ve tried that and without much success with [Isaiahh] Loudermilk and [DeMarvin] Leal”.
Now, I don’t know that the Steelers viewed either Loudermilk or Leal as their defensive line of the future. They drafted Loudermilk in the fifth round in 2021 (trading a future fourth-round pick to do so). Leal came to the Steelers via the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He is entering the final year of his rookie contract after missing most of last season due to injury.
This offseason, the Steelers released one member of their starting defensive line and signed two reserves in free agency. They still have not replaced Larry Ogunjobi, whose release saved them $7 million, never mind finding Heyward’s successor. Was Leal ever supposed to be either one of those, or just a rotational or situational player?
As Fittipaldo noted, there is “a decent chance” that a defensive line standout will be the Steelers’ first-round pick at 21. He also offered QB Shedeur Sanders and S Nick Emmanwori as possibilities, but that is harder to read. What do we really know about how they rate either of them, despite bringing both in for pre-draft visits?
Since 2012, the Steelers have used just four picks in the top three rounds on the defensive line. They drafted Stephon Tuitt in the second round in 2014, Javon Hargrave in the third in 2016, and Keeanu Benton in the second round in 2023. Tuitt and Hargrave lived up to their potential but are both long gone. The Steelers are still waiting for Benton to hit his stride, hoping this is the year that he does so.
With Heyward about to turn 36, the Steelers know they can’t afford to put off finding a blue-chip defensive line prospect. He has been so important to their defense for so long that they can’t go without filling the void. Expecting to find a player equally as good is overly ambitious. But they found Heyward late in the first round in a deep class of defensive linemen. Why not emulate that pattern to find his successor?
