While the Pittsburgh Steelers are now enjoying their summer prior to Training Camp, we’re going to spend some time previewing the positions. From the locks to the guys who are just ‘camp bodies’ we’ll take a look at all of the guys competing at St. Vincent College in Latrobe.
Defensive Line
On the Roster: Cameron Heyward, Yahya Black, Keannu Benton, Sebastian Joseph-Day, Anthony Goodlow, Kevin Jobity,Jr, Derrick Harmon, Dean Lowry, Kyler Baugh, Logan Lee, Esezi Otomewo, Gabriel Rubio
What We Know: I feel very confident that we can lock in Cam Heyward, Derrick Harmon, Sebastian Joseph-Day, Yahya Black and Keannu Benton as roster locks. I’m not great at math but 3-4 defensive teams typically carry six defensive linemen so that leaves one spot. Keep in mind that Mike McCarthy has used both 4-3 and 3-4 defenses during his head coaching career and that does dictate how many he keeps.
New Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham is traditionally a ‘3-4 guy’ but he’s also known to be incredible flexible and fluid with his defenses. Six guys up front seems logical.
What We Don’t Know: The biggest question is how Graham does things. The NFL in general has seen more and more teams move to a nickel as their ‘base’ defense. In OTAs, Graham seemed to be trending in that direction. Therefore, how does this affect how he constructs his defensive front? In terms of remaining personnel Lowry is a former McCarthy guy from their time together in Green Bay. He would add a veteran presence along with Heyward but he’s also struggled to stay healthy.
The Steelers spent a day three pick on Notre Dame’s Gabe Rubio and based on his tape, it was for his ability to stop the run. He is lacking tremendously as a pass rusher but anchors well and shuts down the run which is something the Steelers have struggled with stopping. Jobity is another intriguing guy who signed as an undrafted free agent from Syracuse. He’s got more of the pass rushing profile you like but like Rubio, he’s likely headed to the Practice Squad.
Baugh is an interior type of D-Lineman who relies more on quickness than anything else. He doesn’t strike me as a guy who can consistently control gaps and he’s got a crowd in front of him on the depth chart. Goodlow is more of a defensive end and I’m not overly impressed as he tends to play too high. Otomewo played in a career high 12 games for the Steelers last year collecting a sack and nine tackles overall. Did he see a bump in play because of his improvement or because the Steelers were desperate?
How It Shakes Out: Those top five guys I feel very confident about so I’m not coming off of that hill. Because of the uncertainty surrounding how Graham will deploy his defense, I’ll go ahead and say Otomewo gets the coveted final spot right now but don’t sleep on Logan Lee who also offers the skill of being a long snapper should something happen in game with Christian Kuntz.
Keep in mind that injuries during Camp and the Preseason always have a way of factoring into these decisions.
