The Steelers invested heavily in their defensive line this offseason, but they aren’t yet seeing the dividends pay off. Of course, they haven’t seen their biggest investment on the field yet, with Derrick Harmon missing the first two games due to a knee injury. From the sounds of it, they will have to wait at least another week, as well.
Excluding Harmon, though, what we’re seeing is the continuation of a trend, Gerry Dulac argues. For most of the past decade, the Steelers have not been able to develop their defensive line investments. Harmon is the first selection in the first round since then, so one hopes he changes that. But they need better than they’ve seen from their recent investments.
“I’ll tell you what else hasn’t changed. There’s no development of their defensive linemen”, the Steelers beat writer said on 102.5 WDVE. “I didn’t think it was possible for Keeanu Benton to regress, but he certainly hasn’t progressed in his third year. Isaiahh Loudermilk is just a body, and DeMarvin Leal, they still haven’t figured out what he is”.
Dulac cites these three because they are the most recent defensive linemen the Steelers drafted* before this year. Leal isn’t even on the 53-man roster, but rather on the practice squad, and they moved him to the edge. Loudermilk is starting in Harmon’s place, and showing why he shouldn’t be. Benton, however, is the real disappointment as a 2023 second-round pick.
“Now you focus on Keeanu Benton and the same thing’s happening”, Dulac said of the Steelers’ failure to develop defensive linemen. “And Lord, you hope that doesn’t happen with Derrick Harmon and Yahya Black. And that, to me, is a big, big problem with this football team”.
The last defensive lineman the Steelers drafted and developed successfully was Javon Hargrave. A third-round pick in 2016, he is a two-time Pro Bowler and is still playing. Stephon Tuitt, a 2014 second-round pick, was another success, but he hasn’t played since 2020.
Through two games, the Steelers have lost badly on both the offensive and defensive lines. They are not controlling the line of scrimmage, and the results speak for themselves. Cam Heyward isn’t playing poorly, but he isn’t playing at an All-Pro level, either. Nobody else is even playing what you could describe as acceptable, let alone well. They’re counting on Derrick Harmon to be able to change that, but in the meantime, they have to figure something out.
*Dulac doesn’t mention Logan Lee, a 2024 sixth-round pick who missed his rookie season. But he has barely played so far, so not mentioning him is understandable.
