The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered a big loss in Week 1 when defensive leader Cam Heyward went down with a groin injury against the San Francisco 49ers that sent him to the injured reserve list for six games. The team needed their young players to help fill the void, and 2023 second-round pick Keeanu Benton took the opportunity and ran with it. The Wisconsin Badgers product has fit in seamlessly in the middle of Pittsburgh's defensive line, and while his impact might not always show up on the stat sheet, Head Coach Mike Tomlin is very appreciative of his play so far.
While Heyward returned from injury to play against the Tennessee Titans on Thursday Night Football at Acrisure Stadium in Week 9, Benton has still had a significant role on game days against the Titans and then the Green Bay Packers with Montravius Adams still recovering from an ankle injury. Before Week 9, Benton's usage had varied, but he had never played more than 33 snaps in a game. Against Tennessee, he played 48, and on Sunday against the Packers, he played in 45 snaps. Tomlin commended Benton's play and ability to come in for injured veterans and not miss a beat in his weekly Tuesday press conference.
"He's come on like gangbusters," Tomlin said when asked about Benton. "Every week, he's getting better, and you can't deny that. It's an awesome thing because we need it."
Benton had a career-high of six combined tackles against the Packers while registering two quarterback hits on Jordan Love. He added his first career pass breakup in the second quarter when he knocked a pass from Love down at the line of scrimmage.
Tomlin said the coaching staff has tried to be very intentional in trying to include the rookies from Pittsburgh's solid 2023 class into their rotation of players. For some, like Broderick Jones and Joey Porter Jr., it's been a slow acclimation period before they eventually got starting roles. For Benton, because of the injuries on the defensive line and the nature of wanting to rotate players at the position, he's had a bigger chance to shine, and so far, he's proving to be up to the task.
Tomlin said he's looking at all the first-year guys and wants them to be on the rise with the arrow pointing up. Benton has certainly fit that mold so far. He registered his first career sack on Jimmy Garoppolo in Week 3 when the Steelers took their first trip to face the Las Vegas Raiders in Sin City and, as Tomlin noted, is showing improvement with each passing week.
Steelers' Strong Wisconsin Connection Continues With Benton
Pittsburgh has had some good luck with drafting players from the University of Wisconsin on the defensive side, most notably TJ Watt. Watt was on the Green Light Podcast with NFL alumni brothers Chris and Kyle Long recently and talked about how the school's philosophies on defense mirror Pittsburgh's so closely that it helps immensely when trying to figure out life at the NFL Level.
Isaiahh Loudermilk was drafted by the team out of Wisconsin in 2021 in the fifth round and played with Benton for two seasons. Nick Herbig was taken in the fourth round in 2023 from the same school and was also a teammate of Benton's for three seasons. Tomlin said that it certainly helps these guys on defense to already have substantial playing experience together.
"Some guys have covered some ground together, so there's some knowing and feel and non-verbal communication associated with having spent some time together," he said. "That's just the component of it for sure."
As Benton continues to develop chemistry with the other players on the team, he will continue to grow. Pittsburgh seems to have found a nice little college pathway that has developed some good players, and Benton might be on his way to being the next one in that pipeline.
What have you thought of Benton's play so far? Do you think he'll be a fixture on the d-line in the future?
More must-reads: