Pittsburgh Steelers: Assessing the defensive line entering summer
Training camp for the Pittsburgh Steelers is on the horizon. We’ve looked at the team’s offense. In the interest of equal time, the defense is on deck.
Welcome to Part 6 of our newest series for NFL Spin Zone. As does the rest of the league, the Pittsburgh Steelers are in a sort of “dead” period between minicamps and training camp. However, that makes it the right time to look at the various units of the team. We have already have previewed the entire offensive unit. Now to be extremely fair, our evaluation when it comes to the other side of the ball starts with the defensive front.
It was seemingly not all that long ago that we were talking about those superb defensive units of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The guys who seemed to get the most attention were outside linebacker James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley, as well as phenomenal strong safety Troy Polamalu.
But leading the way for quite a spell was an unsung three-man line. Nose tackle Casey Hampton was named to his share of Pro Bowls. And ends Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel consistently efficient. But overall, the defensive front took a back seat to the back eight.
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With ends Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt, as well as second-year nose tackle Javon Hargrave, the Steelers have the potential to have their best forward up front since the days of Smith, Hampton and Keisel. The key word there is potential. In 2011, Heyward was the team’s first-round draft choice. Entering 2016, he had not missed a game in each of his first five seasons. But he was bitten twice by the injury bug this past year.
Tuitt is a former second-rounder from Notre Dame and was a real find, as was their 2016 third-round pick, Hargrave. Unfortunately, this trio wasn’t on the field together very often this past year. We’ll see if that changes in September. Via free agency, the Steelers signed Tyson Alualu to provide depth both inside and outside.
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Evaluation:
The Pittsburgh Steelers defense has dealt with its share of deserved scrutiny in recent years and deservedly so. But if they can get a big and cohesive year from Heyward, Tuitt and Hargrave, it would make life much easier for the rest of coordinator Keith Butler’s unit. The trio has only been together for one year, but that if was a major problem this past season.