Through the first three weeks of the season, Pittsburgh Steelers third-year nose tackle Keeanu Benton found himself under heavy criticism.
He struggled against the run, getting pushed around far too easily. Benton also wasn’t generating much of a pass rush, either, leading to questions of if he should be benched for rookie fifth-round pick Yahya Black.
Benton heard all the noise and carried that with him over to Dublin, Ireland, for the Steelers’ Week 4 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. That noise fueled him, and he had his best performance of the season, finishing with four tackles, 1.5 sacks, one tackle for loss and three quarterback hits.
He was all over the place and truly dominated up front. One guy who has been very critical of him is former Steelers nose tackle Chris Hoke. But during a Thursday appearance on 93.7 The Fan’s Pomp and Joe Show with Joe Starkey and Bob Pompeani, Hoke had nothing but praise for Benton.
“I thought Keeanu Benton had his best game of the year last week. And I went back and broke film. I watched it again this morning — watched it several times — but this morning I watched really critical of the line of scrimmage. Better technique, right?” Hoke said, according to video via 93.7 The Fan. “Staying down, playing with extension, playing with good leverage, playing it the way that he needs to play to be able to stop the run. I thought he was better there. And then when it was situational football, down and distance dictated it, then he was able to use his quicks and his speed.
“I think he’s a natural three technique playing at nose tackle. But he’s able to. He’s really light on his feet and he does a good job.”
Against the Vikings, Benton played 46 snaps and easily received the highest grade he’s had all season. Benton finished with a 65.2 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, which included a 60.3 run-defense and a 64.3 pass-rush grade. He was stout in the middle and has shown improvement at taking on double teams.
Throughout the first three weeks of the season, Hoke was critical of Benton’s technique, trying to make plays rather than tying up blockers and playing as a true nose tackle. That led to Benton being out of position, playing with poor leverage and easily getting pushed around.
When the nose tackle gets moved the way Benton was early on in the season, the rest of the run defense suffers. He was much, much better in Week 4, and now the arrow is pointing back up.
Not only was Benton good defending the run, he turned up the heat rushing the passer, too. Benton generated a season-high four pressures last Sunday in Dublin, putting a ton of pressure on Carson Wentz. When he’s at his best, he’s playing with good effort and is disruptive in the middle.
That’s what the Steelers saw out of him in Week 4. Very encouraging work from Benton, and now he has to carry it over through the bye week.
