Defense Line Remains atop Steelers Future Needs

The Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t even started serious on-field preparations for their 2023 season, but when the team’s scouts and front office staff gets together later this month, they’ll already be turning the page to 2024.

The 2024 NFL Draft prep season starts this month with meetings that include general manager Omar Khan, his top assistants, scouts and analysts centering on what the team might want to do, and who they need to be watching to be ready for the 2024 NFL Draft.

One of the positions that the Steelers certainly could be focusing on is defensive line. Assistant general manager Andy Weidl came to Pittsburgh from the Philadelphia Eagles, where they built a defensive line with multiple waves of attack.

Last season, first-round pick defensive tackle Jordan Davis couldn’t even crack the top group. Instead, he and former All-Pros Brandon Graham and Ndamukong Suh formed the second group as the Eagles made it all the way to the Super Bowl.

The Steelers have worked to build their depth on the defensive line this offseason, adding free agents Breiden Fehoko and Armon Watts and drafting Keeanu Benton in the second round. But they still obviously have a long way to go to catch up to a team like the Eagles.

In addition to having waves of defenders available, and different types of players to specialize for specific roles, the depth of the Eagles’ unit also helped extend the careers of players like Graham and Fletcher Cox, allowing them to perform at a high level over few reps as they aged.

The Steelers are entering that phase of Cam Heyward’s career. The 34-year-0ld has not slowed down in terms of production. He had his second-best season with 10.5 sacks and third-most career tackles with 74 in 2022. But he should be expected to do so with a smaller overall role within the defense.

Despite being fully healthy and playin gin all 17 games, Heyward played just 801 snaps last season, his fewest since 2017 and his fewest while playing in all of his team’s game ever.

That number probably should be expected to continue to decline. Cox was 32 last year and played 713 snaps. Graham, 34, played just 474.

Larry Ogunjobi, the Steelers’ other starter at defensive tackle, has played over 800 snaps just once in career, and hasn’t done so since 2018.

The Steelers are locked in with Heyward and Ogunjobi through at least the end of the 2024 season. Ogunjobi is signed for 2025. Heyward will presumably be permitted to play as long as he’d like to.

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But the Steelers certainly have an opportunity, starting with the 2024 NFL Draft, to address the future of the position. Defensive linemen frequently take several years to develop into their full potential. Heyward himself didn’t start until his third season, despite being a first-round draft pick. He’s played all of his best football since turning 28. It’s not a position for a quick fix.

In a recent early 2024 Mock NFL Draft by Jordan Reid of ESPN, Reid had the Steelers drafting LSU defensive tackle Mason Smith. Smith missed most of the 2022 season with an ACL injury, but had been considered one of the top defensive line prospects in the country.

It’s a little early to talk specifics, but it’s certainly not too soon to talk about draft scouting priorities for the Steelers in 2024, and with an aging star and lack of a solid surrounding cast, defensive tackle should definitely be on the list.