Re-evaluation: One Steeler stood out on defensive line
Steel City Underground presents a post-2024 NFL season re-evaluation of each positional group on the Pittsburgh Steelers roster in this series, highlighting the standout player or players among each group.
The Steelers placed greater emphasis on the effectiveness of their defensive front, especially in being more dominant in stopping the run of late. They didn’t make major personnel changes prior to the season, adding just two new players to the positional group. They did extend a contract to the senior-most team captain.
2024 Roster: Cameron Heyward, Keeanu Benton, Larry Ogunjobi, Dean Lowry, Montravius Adams, Isaiahh Loudermilk, DeMarvin Leal, Logan Lee
Heyward takes top D-line honors
2023 Walter Payton Man of the Year Cameron Heyward was given a contract extension ahead of the season despite a 2023 regular season that saw him deal with injuries. At 35, many expected Heyward to merely be a placeholder. Instead, he was the most dominant player on the defensive line.
In fact, Heyward proved he had more than enough gas left in the tank as he led all defensive linemen in the NFL and earned his fourth first-team All-Pro award by putting together 71 tackles (12 for a loss of yardage), 20 quarterback hits, 8.0 sacks, and 11 pass defenses.
One could argue that Heyward was the soul of the Pittsburgh defense in 2024. Last season was one of the best of his career. When Heyward was in the game (71 percent of all defensive snaps), the Steelers limited opponents to a 3.7 yards per carry average compared to 5.1 when he was not.
If we were handing out grades, Heyward would easily earn an “A” for his performance and value.
Rounding out the rest of the D-line
Although all but Logan Lee – a sixth round selection in the 2024 NFL Draft that sat the entirety of the season due to a calf injury – saw play, Keeanu Benton – in his second season – was most complimentary to Heyward’s play. With a slightly increased snap count, Benton was able to apply pressure from the nose tackle position.
Benton wasn’t a sack machine – earning just 1.0 for the season – but his ability to get off of blocks and record 11 pressures and 8 quarterback hits created opportunities for a Steelers defense that wanted to disrupt, take advantage of turnovers, and dominate possible.
Ogunjobi missed two games due to injury. Due to Benton’s play, Ogunjobi was on the field less in 2024, and recorded just 1.5 sacks, 41 combined tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, and 7 QB hits.
Lowry, a free agent addition for 2024, made a couple splash plays for Pittsburgh, but played just 21 percent of defensive snaps. He was overshadowed by Montravius Adams and Loudermilk, with Adams having the best season of the trio. Adams had 14 tackles (two for a loss of yardage) in 11 games, and 1.0 sacks.
Because Leal split time between the line and outside linebacker, his numbers took a hit. That was especially true after he sustained a neck injury early in the season that kept him sidelined after Week 5.
Overall re-evaluation
The defensive line has depth concerns following a season that wasn’t exactly exceptional. In fact, outside of Heyward, the line was middle of the pack when compared to other NFL teams. When games needed to be won in the trenches, the Steelers saw themselves bullied by bigger offensive lines.
Loudermilk is a free agent and may be on his way out the door in order to free up a spot for the Steelers to either add a draft selection in 2025 or younger, bolder free agent acquisition. He may not be the only player who exits if Pittsburgh is serious about building a defensive line for their future.
