Pittsburgh Steelers fans have been screaming for Mike Tomlin to start using Keeanu Benton to his strengths. The 2023 second-round pick has been playing nose tackle since being drafted. While he's flashed, he's never been productive in the backfield... that is, until now.
In Week 4, the Steelers were in Dublin, Ireland, taking on the Minnesota Vikings. Though the Vikings were coming off a 48-10 win over the Bengals, Pittsburgh dominated Minnesota in the trenches, and Benton's performance was a big reason why.
Benton got after quarterback Carson Wentz in Week 4, recording four tackles, one-and-a-half sacks, one tackle for a loss, and three quarterback hits. But his performance on film was even more impressive than his box score numbers.
The Pittsburgh Steelers finally get a monstrous performance out of DT Keeanu Benton
It doesn't take an expert to see where Benton's strengths are. Despite being nearly 6'4'' and 310 pounds with roughly 34'' arms, Benton has always been a better pass rusher than a run defender. He uses his quick feet, impressive bend, and stellar club-over move to knife into the backfield and generate pressure on the quarterback.
With the Steelers' front seven bringing heat in Week 4, Benton was able to cook as a pass rusher. The big defensive tackle collected a handful of pressures en route to what proved to be the game of his career so far.
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Here's what's most interesting. In the first 37 games of his NFL career, Benton had just 2 sacks to his name. He nearly matched his career total when he collected a sack-and-a-half against the Vikings in Dublin, Ireland, in Week 4.
If Mike Tomlin doesn't see how Benton wins best after the Steelers' win over the Vikings, I'm not sure if he ever will. This isn't a player who should be two-gapping and taking on double-team blocks; he's a player who should be trying to explode off the snap and help the defensive line by splitting the A-gap.
Things were looking grim for Keeanu Benton in his first three games of the 2025 season, but the third-year defender just had an explosive performance against the Minnesota Vikings. Benton recently turned just 24 years old and should have a bright future ahead with more games like this.