The Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 1 failures on defense can’t be pinned on one person, but third-year NT Keeanu Benton was among the biggest culprits against the New York Jets. He was frequently pushed off the line of scrimmage last Sunday in what may have been the worst game of his NFL career.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo is beginning to wonder about the Steelers’ plan for Benton.
“For a second-round pick, Benton has just kinda left me wanting. I expect more from somebody who was basically a top-50 pick,” Fittipaldo said Friday via 93.7 The Fan’s Pomp and Joe Show. “We just haven’t seen it, and I would hate for this to be the case, but the longer this goes on and he’s not able to hold up to bigger, stronger guys inside, I just wonder if he’s miscast as a nose tackle. I wonder if he’d be better off being a three technique.”
Omar Khan kicked off the offseason at the NFL Combine by saying the Steelers believe Benton can play “anywhere” along the defensive line. Though his intentions have not always translated to reality with his 2024 Combine statement about getting Broderick Jones to left tackle sooner rather than later.
The coaching staff has been reluctant to call Benton anything other than a nose tackle. Mike Tomlin said earlier this week that there is no real consideration of moving him after a rough Week 1 performance. Teryl Austin questioned the value of using an old-school nose tackle. And DL coach Karl Dunbar vouched for Benton there after the Steelers selected 336-pound DL Yahya Black in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
The reason you would use a player like Benton in the middle of the defense is his pass-rush abilities. Despite flashing potential, he only has two sacks, three tackles for loss and 16 QB hits in his first 35 NFL games.
Speaking of Black, Fittipaldo thinks starting him at nose tackle would be the logical change if the run defense keeps struggling but explains why the coaching staff may be hesitant.
“The way Austin explained it yesterday, they don’t wanna put too much on his plate at this point. They wanna kind of have him master one skill first or one position first before they add more to it,” he said. “But listen, if Benton struggles again, if the run defense struggles again at some point, they’re gonna have to make a move. Yahya Black to nose is the most obvious thing that could help.”
Black wasn’t perfect with two missed sacks on Justin Fields and some other issues throughout the game, but he had arguably the best performance of any Steelers defensive linemen in Week 1. At least he beat blocks and held strong at the line of scrimmage at times.
For now, the Steelers appear committed to giving Keeanu Benton every opportunity to prove he belongs in the middle, even if the early returns aren’t promising. But patience will only last so long. If the run defense continues to spring leaks, Pittsburgh may have no choice but to shake up its rotation—and Black looks like the most logical candidate to force that conversation sooner rather than later.
