The Pittsburgh Steelers are at their best when they have a dominant defense for the rest of the team to feed off of. For years the team has relied on vaunted pass rushes to set the tone, with T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward doing the honors recently for the franchise.
Coming into the offseason, Pittsburgh had a few needs to ensure that their defense remained an excellent unit. The secondary needed some help this offseason, which the Steelers addressed early on by signing Patrick Peterson. For a team that normally is quiet in free agency, Peterson can be categorized as a splash signing.
One deal that went under the radar but was a great one for the Steelers was re-signing defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi. Ogunjobi set himself up for a massive payday during free agency in 2022 after a great season with the Cincinnati Bengals. He helped the team make the Super Bowl that season and had a multi-year contract lined up with the Chicago Bears.
However, he failed his physical, which sent him back to the market. The Steelers pounced, signing him to a one-year prove-it deal. He certainly proved it, earning a three-year, $28.7 million deal from Pittsburgh this offseason.
Ogunjobi was excellent last season, helping the Steelers turn around what was an abysmal run defense during the 2021 season. After giving up the most rushing yards in the NFL in 2021, the Steelers ranked ninth in rushing yards allowed last season.
That vast improvement can be attributed in large part to Ogunjobi, who helped the team fill the void left by Stephon Tuitt’s retirement. He battled a few nagging injuries throughout the season but still managed to play in 16 games, registering 48 total tackles, seven tackles for loss, 11 quarterback hits and 1.5 sacks.
While he wasn’t asked to do it much, Ogunjobi can rush the passer with some success. He had 7.0 sacks with the Bengals in 2021 and 5.5 with the Cleveland Browns in back-to-back seasons in 2018 and 2019. That well-rounded skill set is perfect for the Steelers, who deploy him as a run stuffer but can get creative with their defensive fronts knowing he can get after the quarterback as well.
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