3 quietly overrated Pittsburgh Steelers from the 2022 season
By Tommy Jaggi
2. Steelers DL Larry Ogunjobi
When the Steelers signed Larry Ogunjobi to a one-year, $8 million deal after his contract with the Bears fell through last offseason, many thought that Pittsburgh was getting an excellent deal. In 2021 for the Cincinnati Bengals, Ogunjobi racked up 7.0 sacks, 12 tackles for a loss, and 16 quarterback hits despite playing just 68 percent of snaps on an impressive defense.
Steelers fans thought that Ogunjobi would offer similar production this past season, but that didn’t prove to be the case. Despite starting 16 games for Pittsburgh, Ogunjobi managed just 1.5 sacks and 7 tackles for a loss.
What’s worse is that Ogunjobi is supposed to do his best work as an interior pass rusher. However, he struggled to generate any sort of consistent pressure for most of the season. This was reflected in his underwhelming 57.5 pass rush grade from PFF during the 2022 season. As a run defender, Ogunjobi was washed out of plays too often.
You could make the case that Ogunjobi was still the best interior defender outside of Cameron Heyward for the Steelers last year, but that’s not necessarily a high bar to clear. I don’t think he played particularly well in 2022, and I think his performance is getting a little overrated.