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Five Personnel Changes the Steelers Should Make
The Steelers have to look at their roster hard after the shellacking from the Houston Texans on Sunday. Mike Tomlin hinted at some personnel changes that could be coming, but what are the changes the Steelers should look at for the coming weeks? Here are five apparent changes the team needs to make.
Dress Breiden Fehoko
The easiest one for the Steelers to make is to get their big, run-plugging nose tackle Breiden Fehoko into the lineup. He has yet to dress for a gap so far, yet the team struggles from all angles in run defense. There’s more on the run defense and how to fix it later, but while Fehoko’s main attraction is his run defense, the Steelers have mainly struggled in that area. He will not give Pittsburgh the pass-rush juice that someone like Montravius Adams or Armon Watts will give, but the group needs someone up front who can make a big difference in the run game. Fehoko has proven he can do that already with the Chargers last year.
Last year, after being elevated from the Chargers practice squad, Fehoko came onto the team in Week 10 to help boost their run defense. It marked a change for the Chargers that allowed the team to considerably slow down teams they faced in the run game, even if Fehoko does not offer a ton in the pass rush part of his game. To say the least, this is overdue.
Joey Porter Jr.’s Time to Shine
For a rookie cornerback, the NFL is a treacherous place. But in a small sample size, Joey Porter Jr. doesn’t just look the part; he’s killing the part. Porter has hung in there with Davante Adams, Nico Collins, and others. So far, he has allowed just one catch on the season, allowing the lowest passer rating when targeted among rookie cornerbacks. That alone should get Porter some more playing time. His physicality and length could be a boon in run defense, and Pittsburgh is not getting enough run defense help from the outside when teams gash them on the perimeter.
But more than that, Patrick Peterson and Levi Wallace have struggled mightily. Teams top receivers are putting up fantastic numbers against the Steelers. Something has to change, and while Porter doesn’t solve all of it, he sure can solve some of it. It’s time to get him out of just sub-packages.
Get Desmond King Ready
This one looks like the Steelers could be moving towards making. King got elevated to the ‘or’ slot on the depth chart along with Chandon Sullivan. Sullivan’s play is not jumping in your face as badly, but there is not much that Sullivan has done to keep the gig. For the Steelers, their slot cornerback is a vital part of their run defense. That guy has to blitz, tackle, and be fearless when defending the edge. Desmond King has those qualities on his tape throughout his career.
Pittsburgh has allowed 72 percent of their rushing yards allowed to the perimeter. The Texans hurt them badly by exploiting their defensive backs in space. It’s pretty simple for the Steelers. King is a massive upgrade to their run defense. It does not the only fix, but King gives them more flexibility at that spot than Sullivan does on run-downs.
Play Keeanu Benton….Way More
Keeanu Benton played the third most snaps on Sunday of any defensive linemen. Had DeMarvin Leal not suffered a concussion, he certainly would have ended up lower on that list. Larry Ogunjobi and Montravius Adams ended up at the top, but with Benton’s continued impact each down, it’s hard to say he should not be the guy playing the most snaps on the defensive line.
Benton’s run defense translates perfectly from his days at Wisconsin. Under defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, the run game’s stunts, run gap responsibilities, and general assignments are largely the same. The most significant difference is that the Steelers will give Benton those chances to pin his ears back and rush the passer. He has some go-to moves, like his club-swim move, that he loves to utilize. Expect Benton to get more and more snaps, and the Steelers will test how much of a gas tank Benton has to handle that more significant load.
Move Diversity on Offense
This is a wide-sweeping point on offense. There are no apparent moves to be made on offense with Calvin Austin III starting and Broderick Jones now inserted into the lineup. But I need to see players moving around and playing different spots. Whenever he comes back, there is zero reason the Steelers should play Pat Freiermuth at the end man on the line of scrimmage down-blocking edge rushers. George Pickens needs to move around more in sets. We should see more two running back stuff. There needs to be more pulling guards and spread looks.
This is a schematic change as much as it is a personnel change. Why is Allen Robinson II always the guy condensed to the inside of the formation? Can that not be George Pickens or Austin? Can Pickens be the point man in the bunch set? It opens up many other options for route concepts that feel underutilized in this scheme. Players struggle on the execution side sometimes, but the players aren’t getting many opportunities to fill a diverse cache of roles.
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