How Steelers Rookies Fit Into Defensive Line

The Pittsburgh Steelers overhauled their defensive line this offseason, first releasing Larry Ogunjobi before signing a wave of experienced veterans who can either fill in as depth or potentially work their way towards ending starting reps.

The team's most important work at the position, however, came through the NFL Draft this past weekend. The Steelers exited with Oregon defensive tackle Derrick Harmon, who was chosen No. 21 overall in the first round, and Iowa defensive tackle Yahya Black in the fifth, both of whom figure to play significant roles moving forward.

Off the bat, it's rather clear that both Cameron Heyward and Keeanu Benton will continue to earn a lion's share of the snaps up front.

While Heyward will be turning 36-years-old in May, he's coming off a 2024 campaign in which he was a first-team All-Pro after posting 71 tackles, 60 pressures and eight sacks while playing 71 percent of the defensive reps.

As for Benton, he started 14 of Pittsburgh's 14 games in his sophomore season and finished with a sack alongside 23 pressures.

His production doesn't jump off the page, but that's more so a product of him lining up at nose tackle rather than on the outside as a three-technique a majority of the time.

The addition of Black in particular, who measured in at 6-foot-6, 336 pounds at the NFL Combine, could allow the Steelers to get more creative and diversify their alignments within certain packages in a way that would free up Benton for more pass rush opportunities.

Black has the size and requisite experience to slot in at nose tackle as a space-eater with impressive strength and length, meaning he could spell Benton at the position.

At the same time, though, the Steelers appear rather content with what Benton's provided at nose tackle. He's a versatile player who can play some three- or four-technique, but defensive line coach Karl Dunbar appears rather confident that he'll stick in the middle of the front a good chunk of the time.

"Keeanu plays three technique when we go to our sub package, and he plays great over guards," Dunbar said, via the team's website. "In our 3-4 structure, he plays nose tackle, and I think Yahya and Derrick have the length to play four technique, and I really like Keeanu where he is right now. And bring these guys up in that B gap and give them the opportunity to do that."

Pittsburgh uses its sub packages a healthy amount of the time, so Black, Benton and even Harmon won't be locked into any specific role throughout the season, in all likelihood.

Harmon is better suited to stick on the outside given his speed and pass rushing juice, evidenced by his five sacks in 2024.

He also spent most of his time lined up in the B-gap as opposed to the A-gap, signaling that he's more of a traditional end, or two-tech, as a Heyward protégé of sorts, but he too can move around and line up pretty much anywhere in sub packages if need be while still finding ways to get after the quarterback.

Pittsburgh's defense added a pair of intriguing prospects in Harmon and Black in this year's draft who should bring some extra prowess to the line and improve the team's run defense while also allowing for more pressure and flexibility in terms of alignments.