My thoughts on our roster.... D-line

If games are won up front on the offensive side, then the same holds true for the defensive portion as well.... control the front line and the rest of the defenses job gets remarkably easy..... many experts consider us to have one of the best d-lines in the league, but i don't particularly see it.... we have our moments, but most of our accolades are based on reputation, and that can only takes us so far.... let's take a look at this unit in more detail...


DE:
Cam Heyward --- I initially thought this would be Heyward's last season.... I basically got fat on crow all season watching Heyward turn back the clock and have one of the best yrs of his career... He said before the season that he wanted to play 3 more seasons, and I now see no reason not to believe him as he has returned to the short list of elite D-linemen in the league..... he basically has put himself in the position to call his own shots.. he got after the QB... he stuffed the run.... and he lead the league in batted passes... yes, he will be a yr older next season, but I'm done doubting this man.... he's the best we have and his extension was well deserved

Larry Ogunjobi --- up and down season, with stretches of dominance and stretches of disappearances, which basically sums up his tenure with us... he can get penetrative and pressure the qb, and has his moments against the run, but he's far too inconsistent to be relied on for a full season.... he's also quite injury prone .... I see him possibly playing another season with us and then moving on to another team

Isaiah Loudermilk --- massive lineman who moves well.... has had his moments when on the field, but is also inconsistent... I believe he has reached his ceiling at this point... the coaches have maximized his talents and I don't see him as much more than a bottom of the depth chart player, although, he should definitely stick around

Dean Lowry --- limited player that gets by mainly on pure hustle... I like his attitude, but he is easily replaceable, which i believe will happen through the early parts of the draft


NT:
Keanu Benton --- athletic NT that showed strong development in yr 2.... a good penetrator against the passthat can apply pressure and has had his moments against the run... what he isn't is dominating, and doesn't command 2-3 blockers.. his skill ser at the NFL level is more like a 3-4 DE, and that is what i believe he will ultimately be with us once Cam Heyward retires... he filled in for an injured Cam and played admirably..... I believe we get that space eater in the middle during the draft and start sowing the seeds of the new d-line with Benton at end... I could even see him replacing Ogunjobi and playing opposite Cam, but all of that hinges on us getting that beast in the middle that makes the 3-4 defense go.... count on Benton going back and forth between both positions to maximize matchups in the future


Montravious Adams ---- injurybprone player, but when healthy, is one of those all effort players that endears himself to coaches... he definitely deserves a spot on the team, but I wouldn't want him starting long term.... a change of pace guy only that leads by example.... absolutely should stick around as a backup



Overview:
Much more is needed, and it will take a few drafts to get it right, starting with this one.... this yrs draft is fairly rich at the position and it would be an epic fail if we didn't capitalize on it



Next up....... Lbers

 

Sorry, I saw no stretches of dominance from Larry O this season. Fades badly as the season wears on. Huge disappointment considering his cap hit.
Benton is miscast as a NT. He would be a fine DE. NT has been a hole that the Steelers have not filled in many years.
Loudermilk should have been a cut last season. He's purely a backup, and not a good one.
Adams is a JAG.
This DL needs serious attention but unfortunately so does the offense. The Steelers will have some tough choices in the next draft.

 

Four of them can go as far as i'm concerned. Benton had a decent year and like you stated he should be a full time starter. Cam showed he still is the best DL on the team but was running out of gas at the end. They need to upgrade so Heyward can get less snaps to keep him fresh. They definitely need to grab another DT in the draft I would say the 2nd round and one later on and look to FA as well. The D Line was a weakness.

Ogunjobi has a roster bonus due for 3 mill and 3,533 mill signing bonus. If he is still on the roster after the league year 3 days in he is due the bonus. If released it would only cost 3,533 mill dead cap. Unfortunately I believe they will let him play the contract out at 10,533 mill.

 

I agree, Benton needs to be our 3-4 defensive end opposite Cam and we need to go out and find that space eater NT that commands 2 to 3 blocker to free up our middle linebackers to make plays. We have the speed at linebacker now (Watt, Highsmith, Queen, Wilson, and Herbig) that can create havoc and can blitz from all angles. Teams won't be able to chip Watt with 2 to 3 players making him non existent. They would have to take the rest of the linebacker crew into account. JJ Watt, on the Pat McAfee show, was talking about how his brother was open to moving around, after the season and will be working on that so this doesn't get keyed on like he has. That is just bad coaching if you allow this to happen to your best player and don't try to scheme him free and put him in a better position to succeed.

 

Our DL was embarrassing the last 2 seasons. We got great production here and there, but as many have said, just inconsistency at best. Our run defense suffers from it.


There are some DTs in this draft that would look good wearing the black and gold next season. We already have young guys with Benton and Lee. Not sure their intended roles but we need to keep adding until we get some dominance back.

 

I have been hearing from the local media they expect Larry O to be cut, his play doesn't warrant a 10 million salary.

 

This position and WR will be the major positions to look for regarding Round One consideration. Among the ones I'd want, Tyleik Williams from Ohio State, TJ Sanders from South Carolina, Walter Nolen from Ole Miss, Derrick Harmon from Oregon or even a wild card like Shemar Stewart from Texas A&M would all be stellar options. This is a great year if one is in need of IDL assistance... and sure enough, Pittsburgh is in dire need of it.


Larry O, Cameron Heyward and Dean Lowry are all either 30 or ever. Keanu Benton is, more or less, what you have at the IDL position. If not WR, I am with the likes of @Blast Furnace and @mac daddyo that IDL is going to be attacked aggressively this off-season due to both a talent and age drop out.



Who knows?! I wouldn't put it past the team to double dip for mid round selections like Demonte CapeHart from Clemson, Howard Cross III from Notre Dame or even Ty Robinson from Nebreaksa.

 

Who has Karl Dunbar "Coached Up"?

 

Benton, Leal (at least from what was seen during his 2024 Preseason) and Loudermilk (depth only).


Again, it does take time for Lineman of either side to fully get it. Hell, it even took Cameron Heyward time to become the IDL he is today. I would wager that this year is the year that Keeanu Benton fully gets it. Give Dunbar a great piece of clay to mold and he will.


Remember, Karl Dunbar studied under the legendary Pete Jenkins from LSU; one of Footballs greatest ever Defensive Line Coaches. Let us also not forget that this is the same Karl Dunbar who coached up names like Kevin Williams, Sheldon Richardson, Linval Joseph, Johnathan Allen and DaRon Payne. Wherever Karl Dunbar as gone, players end up being either Top 32 picks and/or multiple Pro Bowl selections.


Mind you that, of Cameron Heyward's Five All Pro Seasons, four of them have been with Dunbar. That isn't coincidence given Dunbar's history.

 

Dunbar also works with the edge rushers FWIW.

 

I think Benton is sort of a can’t miss pick, but he definitely didn’t have the 2nd year jump we were expecting.

Leal and Loudermilk have been largely disappointing.

 

3 of that is prorated signing bonus

He actually costs 7

 

They need a real NT that can take on double teams.

 

I see things alot differently than you.

We agree on Heyward. However the rest of your assessment is baffling to me. Larry Ogunjobi never showed dominance this season or throughout his tenure with the Steelers. I never liked the signing and I especially didn’t like the extension. Highly injury prone, gets blown out on double teams and plays with underwhelming effort through long stretches of the game and season. I absolutely see them moving on from him. He was a liability against the run game all season long.

Lowry is gone nothing more to say.

Loudermilk is a depth player that is it. He is not a massive lineman by the way. He is a long lineman but honestly he could stand to put on weight and learn to play low so he can take on double teams more.

Benton has talent but he actually took step back this year. I don’t what kind of development you saw this year. Were we watching the same games? I personally feel like he needs to develop more pass rush moves as teams have adjusted to his swim move. He needs to figure out what he is. Is he going to put on more weight and play gap contain and occupy two blockers or is he gonna gap penetrate and lose weight and become quicker? Right now he is kind of in-between both. Unfortunately Tomlin doesn’t value big NT’s nor does he regularly ask his DT’s to occupy multiple blockers. He prefers to have them gap penetrate and let the blockers get to the second level to wall off our smallish athletic linebackers. Makes absolutely no sense to me.

Adams is a carrier backup. Nice to have on the roster for depth purposes only.

This position is in need of some talent infusion but more importantly they need to change the philosophy and scheme here to see them reach their true potential.

I would give up the dream of ever drafting a large NT type. We don’t value that type of player and they aren’t a scheme fit for what this defense is trying to do, sadly.

 

We're not as far apart as you're saying..... we're both practically saying the same thing about Lowry...

We basically said the same thing about Loudermilk.... the only thing you're missing here is that it seems that you're still looking at his listed weight..... since he came into the league, he has gained good weight and currently sits at 325.... other than that, we're saying the same thing about him


We're saying the same thing about Montravious Adams almost verbatim

We're practically saying the same thing about Benton with different verbiage..

And we believe almost equally about Ogunjobi.... the only difference is that Ogunjobi has made some big plays in this defense.... he just doesn't do it consistently, which is what we both said...

And your Overview is almost exactly what I said as well

You would see that if you read the entire passage

 

I did not know that Loudermilk had put on that much weight either. He's like 6'7". At 330ish he does become more of a force to deal with in the middle. BigDan had that size but just didn't use it aggressively according to reports.

 

I'd like to see us go to a 4-3 defense, I have done for a while. It gets more beef on the field, and games are won and lost up front, it's easier to get pressure with a 4-3 as well.

 

Where did you see that he is 325? He looks awfully thin to be at that weight. You mentioned Ogunjobi donating at times. A few plays is far from dominating. I strongly felt Ogunjobi was a liability to this defense. I guess I just felt the way you worded it sounded alot more positive on how I feel abut the defense. I just don’t like how the defense is schemed. Back when Lebeaue ran the defense the ILB’s made the splash plays and the DT’s and NT had one objective - play two gap contain and play it laterally. Thats why Cam didn’t create alot of splash early in his career because he was tasked with two gap contain and timing up blockers and gaps. Now the DT’s pin their ears back and penetrate. Thats great if they pick the right gap and get in. Its feast or famine. Not to mention they often take themselves right of a play with that style and they leave no protection for the Inside Linebackers.

In this defensive scheme it is nearly impossible for the inside linebackers to thrive. They are smaller and athletic to cover the pass and yet we are asking them to take on blockers. It makes absolutely no sense. I don’t care how much pedigree you throw at this defense it is always going to get pushed around and give up big chunks and yardage until we change the scheme. I understand you can’t play a traditional 3-4 defense with a NT anymore on a regular basis because the game has changed to alot of spread offenses heavy on the passing game but at least go with a two massive DT’s that can contain multiple blockers and in particular prevent the cut back on the inside zone that is so prevalent today in run offenses. Set up so the at last one inside linebacker is always coming down hill to fill the gap and essentially run blitz or pass blitz. Thats what theses small quick inside backers are designed to do.

We constantly have our backers standing flat footed in the middle of the field reading and reacting trying to be everywhere but essentially nowhere all at the same time as a result. I get it they have to defend the RPO and running QB’s but asking them to do all that and cover the pass and take on a blocker as well is nearly impossible. At least take away the blocker to make it easier on the guys. I see many defenses where inferior DT’s and inferior ILB’s are playing much better than our players are because the scheme is set up to allow them to thrive and play better. Our system really caters to the DT’s and Edge players making splash plays. If they don’t that is a problem. If they fail to consistently make splash plays that is an indictment on that players ability because this system is tailor made for them to succeed.

So with that being said Ogunjobi and Benton not making splash plays as in nearly every game is a problem and it is on them. If they are nt making the plays which the defense is designed for them too then why bother paying them expensive contracts? I would rather get two massive guys to just sit in the middle and take up blockers and let the ILB’s and Safeties make plays.

 

I am negative because we have this same argument every year about Tomlins defenses. At some point we have to realize the issue isn’t even about the players but its about the scheme. I hate Tomlins scheme. I really get tired of completely relying on turnovers to win games. Our defense gives up alot of chunk plays and alot of yardage. Tomins use of his front seven is counter productive against stopping both the run and the pass game. It is always one or the other we have to commit too. Under Lebeau we could stop the run and also put pressure on the Qb. Tomlin has to give up his pipe dream of gap penetration with these DT’s it really hangs the ILB’s out to dry especially against the run.

Its not a fair defense to ILB’s to ask them to be small and athletic and great at coverage and also be able to stop the run while taking on blockers. You have to have an extremely unique talent to do that. I personally think it is much easier to find 350 lb DT’s to play gap contain and occupy multiple blockers and keep your Inside Linebackers clean. If our Inside Linebackers had that kind of shame and those kind of DT’s in front of them they would be Pro Bowlers and probably making alot more splash plays. Not to mention we would be a top five run defense and good short yardage and red zone defense. But Tomlin has been involve with the Warren Sapp type of DT ever since his coaching days in Tampa. Those kind of guys are hard to come by.

Our style of defense literally has the Inside Linebackers playing like Free Safeties. Everyone is on their heels. I hate it. You don’t see that with KC who personnel wise is an inferior defense to us overall, but a much more productive defense.

 

Its ok I admit I am negative. Its hard to be positive when we never see change. We keep the same schemes in place year after year and keep throwing bodies at it through the draft or free agency and we seemingly never see a positive outcome. To me it is very arrogant of Tomlin to be so married to a scheme that he is unwilling to entertain other options.