Steelers have three players crack list of PFF’s top 32 interior defensive linemen

Pittsburgh had an intimidating defensive line in 2020. Here’s why Pro Football Focus is so high on three Steelers defensive linemen entering 2021.  

When it comes to the team’s top positional groups, you can put any sort of spin you want on the matter, but you will have a hard time convincing me that the defensive line isn’t the best unit on the Steelers. In fact, it may be the best defensive line unit in all of football.

Stephon Tuitt was finally healthy in 2020, and it made a big difference. Pro Football Focus has been going through each positional group this offseason and ranking the top 32 players at each position. For their most recent article, they grouped all interior defensive linemen together. Yet, with so many quality defensive linemen to compete with, the Steelers had three players crack this list.

According to Ben Linsey’s rankings, Cameron Heyward ranks 3rd among all interior defensive linemen entering the 2021 season, while Stephon Tuitt ranked 11th. Even nose tackle Tyson Alualu found his name on this list at 29th.

Steelers are deserving of three representatives

I don’t think anyone was surprised to see both Heyward and Tuitt crack this list. While there are more than 64 starting interior defensive linemen in the NFL (depending on teams that run even or odd fronts), many consider Heyward and Tuitt to be the most dominating paring of interior defenders in the league.

Last season, it was Tuitt who was the beneficiary of the stat sheet – surpassing Heyward in nearly every major statistical category. Regardless, both players combined for 99 tackles, 15.0 sacks, 17 tackles for a loss, 44 quarterback hits, and 67 pressures, according to Pro Football Reference.

But these two aren’t the only Steelers defensive linemen receiving some love. Tyson Alualu also cracked this list thanks to his dominance as a run defender while still being able to prove consistent pressure on the quarterback. Though he only recorded 2.0 sacks and 4 tackles for a loss last season, he was a difference-maker on the football field and earned a very respectable PFF grade last season.

Though Pittsburgh’s pass rush could take a bit of a hit now that Bud Dupree is no longer with the team, the Steelers have every interior defender set to return to the lineup again this year, as Alualu and Chris Wormley were both re-signed this offseason.

Eventually, Cameron Heyward’s play will start to decline, as he’s in his 30s, but Tuitt is coming off his best NFL season, and this group, as a whole, should once again be dominant in 2021. It’s also worth noting that former Steelers defensive tackle, Javon Hargrave, also made this list.

The Steelers have several very strong positional groups on the team, but their defensive line is as dominant as any group in the NFL. Let’s hope Cameron Heyward, Stephon Tuitt, and Tyson Alualu can all be on this list again next offseason.