The Pittsburgh Steelers' coaching staff hasn't always put its players in the best position to succeed. Mike Tomlin made a mistake playing former guard Kevin Dotson out of position, only to witness his talent after he was traded to the LA Rams, while the Steelers flip-flopped Broderick Jones from right tackle back to left, stunting his development.
But one player the Steelers have failed as much as anyone on the team is Keeanu Benton.
Benton shows a ton of promise and traits that could make him one of the better defensive tackles in the NFL. At nearly 6'4'' and 310 pounds with 34'' arms, Benton pairs his decent size with impressive quickness and bend as a pass rusher. It was his raw talent and upside as a pass rusher that had him going in the first round of Bleacher Report's 2023 NFL re-draft this summer.
However, one area he hasn't performed well is consistently holding up at the point of attack as a run defender.
This hasn't stopped the Steelers' coaches from playing him out of position as a nose tackle. Tomlin, along with defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Karl Dunbar, clearly has an issue recognizing Benton's strengths and weaknesses. Otherwise, why would they intentionally set him up for failure?
The Pittsburgh Steelers are failing Keeanu Benton by forcing him to play nose tackle
Benton's biggest weakness was on full display in the season opener against the New York Jets. The former second-round pick out of Wisconsin was routinely washed out of run plays. He never stood a chance against the double teams he saw, and he couldn't hold his ground when trying to two-gap to stop the run.
Because of this, Benton was the weakest link on the Steelers' interior defensive line in Week 1 and a big reason the Jets were able to rush for 182 yards and three touchdowns. We knew Benton struggled during the game, but when you go back and watch the all-22 tape from his performance, it was as ugly as you could have imagined.
But it's impossible to put all of the blame on Benton. We recognized his skill set when he entered the NFL in the 2023 draft. Sadly, the Steelers have not put him in a position to succeed.
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For whatever reason—be it a lack of depth or gross misevaluation of his talent—the Steelers continue to play Keeanu Benton at nose tackle. This position requires players to hold up at the point of attack and take on double teams, two things Benton does not do well.
Benton's best traits are knifing into the backfield and using his combination of quickness, fluidity, and bend to put pressure on the quarterback. It's easy to see that he's best suited to be a penetrating 3-technique. Sadly, this is rarely how he's used.
What's even worse is that Coach Tomlin was asked about Benton's role after the Jets game, but said that he has 'no real strong consideration' of moving the young defensive lineman off nose tackle. What a shame.
This is starting to feel like Javon Hargrave all over again, but worse.
The Steelers pigeonholed Hargrave as a 3-4 nose tackle, and he earned just four sacks entering his third season. Eventually, Hargrave went to teams that knew how to use him. He later combined for 23 sacks in three years with the Eagles before recording a seven-sack season at 30 years old with the 49ers in 2023. Hargrave has been a two-time Pro Bowler since leaving the Steelers.
Keeanu Benton can't make any progress if he's being grossly misused. And if Tomlin isn't willing to get him off nose tackle and into his more natural position as a 3-tech, we can continue to expect the same struggles.
Benton is going to be a good defensive tackle for another NFL team after his rookie contract expires if the Steelers continue to waste his talent in a baffling role.