The Pittsburgh Steelers entered the 2025 offseason with gaps in their defensive line, although the primary concern was depth and finding an heir-apparent to Cam Heyward. The draft brought in Oregon’s Derrick Harmon and Iowa’s Yahya Black, presumably giving the Steelers insurance for Heyward’s future and possibly finding a future nose tackle in Black.
Based on those additions, you’d expect Keeanu Benton to get more opportunities as a three-technique and begin to move away from primarily serving as the team’s nose tackle. Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Derrick Harmon was declared the starting ‘left’ defensive end, which is an exciting revelation for the team’s first-round investment. But that also means that Benton must stay at nose tackle in base packages, which defensive line coach Karl Dunbar confirmed at minicamp Tuesday.
Keeanu Benton is stuck at nose tackle despite calls for expanded role
“310 pounds is the perfect weight for Keeanu,” Dunbar said. “We had a 295-pound nose tackle in (Javon) Hargrave before, and he made a whole lot of money in the NFL.”
At 310 pounds, Benton is not exactly the heaviest defensive lineman on the roster. Both Harmon and Black are heavier. In fact, Black is the heaviest defensive player on the current roster by a good 10 pounds. But even he was recently confirmed to be working with the ‘defensive ends’ like Heyward and Harmon.
Of course, the position is about more than being the heaviest or widest guy, more so today than ever before. Hargrave was a trailblazer of sorts in that regard.
But Benton’s production has not matched Hargrave’s early years with Pittsburgh. In Hargrave’s first two seasons, he picked up four sacks and nine TFLs. Benton has just two sacks and three tackles for loss. Dunbar didn’t discredit that Benton still has a jump to make in the defense.
“He puts a ton of hits on the quarterback,” Dunbar said. “His sack productivity should go way up. But until you put the skins on the wall, nothing counts.”
Are the Steelers miscasting their young defensive linemen?
Of course, this isn’t a video game; Benton will still rotate in with Harmon and Heyward in pass-rushing situations to get his looks. No doubt, his versatility and experience in the defense at that position are the leading factors in his remaining primarily at nose tackle.
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After all, it’d be a bit jarring if Black, a fifth-round pick, were dubbed a starter at nose while Harmon took fewer reps behind Heyward.
Still, it’s no less frustrating that Pittsburgh has two young defensive linemen who will be playing somewhat out of position in 2025, with Benton and Black effectively being swapped from where they probably should be.