Revisiting Olasunkanmi Adeniyi at OLB

I understand this was against backups in the preseason, but even when looking at this guy's college tape he showed the same quickness and edge rush abilities. He's one heck of a tackler also.

Comparing him to Kieon Adams, the edge definitely goes to Adeniyi. Pun intended.

I have a real curiosity what he would show against starting NFL offensive lineman.

We could be surprised

 

Hoping to see him get some snaps in the regular season. I'm also hoping they trade Dupree.

 

An old article but nice refresher on Ola:

https://247sports.com/nfl/pittsburg...ss-rusher-of-Steelers-rookie-class-120009997/

 

Watt + Adeniyi > Watt + Bud

 

I like Ola, but I will wait to see how camp and pre-season play out before I label him better than Bud. Ola has to be able to carry his momentum into season 2. Is he hungry? Did he spend the offseason working on his body? Is his mindset that he is coming into this camp to win a job? If the answers to those questions are yes, then there is no reason not to believe Ola will be a beast this year. We shall see.

 

That seriously might be one of the most logical things ever said on this board

I say this because I've said the same thing

 

Pre season? Yes. Back ups? Yes. I don't care about that. What I care about is that he has technique,strength and tenacity. Three characteristics not necessarily associated with the guy ahead of him. I love his potential.

 

that's it there is potential. It has yet to be seen vs 1's. Not everyone is a James Harrison(sdot triggered).

 

What if anything gives us hope that Tomlin for once will choose the guy with the best ability to help the team rather than the 5th year vet? I'd like to think that Ola will be given a shot but I also believe that the Pirates will make a playoff run so I'm the eternal optimist .

 

Well he definitely showed those attributes against the backups.

It's yet to be seen though it that matches up at the next level against the starters however.

Potential meets a starting roster job when he demonstrates it against the big dawgs. I'm surprised they didn't throw him out there on situational pass rush situations in the regular season. Hopefully we see different next year.

 

Really you're surprised that Mike Tomlin and Keith Butler wouldn't use all the tools available to them to win games rather than going with guys they had confidence in but who might be less likely to make plays?

Sorry my jaded side is showing today.

 

I've been in defense of mostly Tomlin on here because a lot of what is said against him I don't think is entirely accurate, but I'm not in support of this one. They need to get him in some situational passing situations. He also was a beast on that one run-stop play. He loos like he's throwing around offensive lineman out there, but obviously he's just doing a great job of catching them off balance.

I have a feeling this kid is a lot better than he's currently been giving credit for.

 

I think I read that the OLB dropped about 20% last year which is significantly less than the year before.

 

I don't know about you guys but if we had another Watt we would be pretty darn good on defense, given Edmunds keeps rising and nelson works out.

 

Yeah, but that's if Heyward and Tuitt don't disappear, which they do on occasion.

 

True, but I’d rather put the guy on the field that can check 2 of the 3 boxes - stopping the run and pressuring the QB consistently, as opposed to the guy that whiffs at all 3. Not sure if it’s Ola, but if he can set the edge consistently and shows that he is constant threat to make a sack, I’d roll with him. We can sub him out for 20% of the time.

 

Is it bad to think Aaron smith/kiesel were better than tuitt/heyward?

Not really fair though because they had a big anchor lol

 

I'm not big on Ola, at his size he doesn't have the power Silverback did against the run game, and for him to succeed he would need those kind of attributes.

 

I get what you’re saying. However, The player your describing may not be on the team, and it’s not like Dupree is particularly good at performing any of those defensive responsibilities.

If Ola ends up showing that he’s more consistent and is more effective at stopping the run and blitzing the QB, why wouldn’t we put him on the field? Those are all big ifs, but I’d be fine with subbing him out with Dupree on coverage plays (20% of the time). I’m sure Dupree will play full series as well and he isnt always the OLB to drop in third down plays.

At this point, the sample size is small for Ola. Yes he might not ever be great at coverage, but if he shows that he’s great at setting the edge, why would we stop him from contributing and forcing offenses to account for having two olbs that can stop the run and blitz.

It’s basically adding a dimension to our D by subtracting Dupree’s opportunities where he’s often ineffective. At this point, I’ll never feel comfortable giving Bud another contract and It’s time to see what other players can do for this team.