Player: DL Keeanu Benton
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: Few players needed a get-right game more than Keeanu Benton, who very much had that against the Vikings. Increasingly maligned over the first three weeks of the season, many analysts discussed the merits behind demoting him. If he continues to play as he did this past game, however, he will quickly stifle that conversation.
In just one game, Keeanu Benton set a career-high in sacks for a season—even with a low bar. A tremendously low bar, actually. The third-year defensive lineman recorded a sack and a half against the Vikings. In each of his first two seasons, he only managed one sack, so his first multi-sack game is a new high-water mark.
But this needs to be just a beginning, rather than a high point or a culmination. The Steelers drafted Benton in 2023 hoping he could be part of their nucleus for years to come. After a promising rookie season, he failed to take a step forward last year. For whatever reason, he looked lost during the first three weeks of this season.
And for whatever reason, Benton looked much better the last time out. I don’t know why that is, but he looked much closer to the flashes we saw during his rookie year. He recorded four tackles in all, and generated three quarterback hits, forcing an incompletion on a 3rd and 12.
Of Keeanu Benton’s two non-sack tackles, both go down as run stops, including one for no gain. Once again, he flashed the quickness and hands that allow him to win off the snap. But he showed signs that he is also learning how to finish plays, which has been a long-standing issue. If he is finally back to where he once was, that is the final mountain to conquer: translating talent into production.
With regular season on the way and the roster in place, it’s once again time to “take stock”. It took a while, but we finally saw some of that change the team talked about after the season ended. Certainly, the move to trade for WR DK Metcalf qualifies as a change, not to mention the accompanying contract. Oh, and they also traded some guy named George Pickens, which people found significant.
After a long offseason, we finally know what this Steelers team will look like for the 2025 season. The dust is long settled on both free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft, and now we’re into the real thing. What final moves might the team make, if any? They’ve certainly made a flurry of moves, though some question whether they make much difference. This is a Steelers team starving for postseason success, but how desperate are they for a playoff win in 2025?
