Holes on DL need to be plugged now
Rushing defense in 2021 ranked last in league
The Steelers defense spent most of the 2021 season looking like the EZ Pass lane on the turnpike, allowing opponents more 200-yard rushing games and more runs of at least 20 yards than any team in the NFL. Not surprising, they ranked last in the leaguein rush defense.
You don’t have to look far to find the reason.
The defensive line, once the pride of a franchise that introduced the Steel Curtain, had problems finding bodies and plugging holes. They were without two of their three starters for most, if not all, of the season and didn’t have enough quality depth to help defensive end Cam Heyward, who spent most of the season facing double- and triple-teams. That’s what happens when you ignore a position for seven years.
Team president Art Rooney II said after the season the foundation of the 2022 Steelers has to be built on running the ball and stopping the run. Well, the foundation to stop the run is crumbling — “We weren’t able to stop the run the way you need to be successful,” Rooney said — and it needs to be addressed quickly. And notin freeagency, either.
The Steelers allowed opponents to rush for more than 200 yards in four games in 2021, twice as many as any other team. The Cincinnati Bengals came close to making it five when they rushed for 198 yards in their November victory at Paul Brown Stadium.
Maybe even more embarrassing was allowing 24 runs of at least 20 yards, eight more than any other team and at least twice as many as 21other teams.
Part of the reason for the long runs was the failure of the defensive line, without Stephon Tuitt and Tyson Alualu, to keep offensive linemen from getting to the second level. And that was a problem for inside linebackers Devin Bush and Joe Schobert, who had difficulty getting off blocks.
“It didn’t come together as good as it could have,” general manager Kevin Colbert said. “There were some games when it was very good and there were some games when it wasn’t. We’re not going to make excuses. I think we would have been better had we had Stephon and Tyson and a healthy DevinBush.”
The Steelers need to restock their defensive line with quality young players who will eventually replace Heyward (33), Alualu (35) and even Tuitt (29), whose future with the team still carries a lot of question marks. And they need to do it in — thedraft — high in the draft.
Since Tuitt was a secondround choice in 2014, the Steelers have all but turned their back on the position. The only player they drafted higher than the fifth round was Javon Hargrave, who was a third-round pick in 2016.
Tuitt’s status is a big key. The Steelers would like him to return — and Colbert said he wants to return — but the team is wary of Tuitt’s commitment going forward after the personal issues that caused him to miss the entire 2021 season.
In his absence, Chris Wormley developed into a solid player who is a dependable backup. And the coaches liked what they saw from rookie Isaiahh Loudermilk, a fifth-round pick in 2021. But the late-season addition of nose tackle Montravius Adams turned out to be a surprise, enough that the Steelerswill try to re-sign him.
But they need more than that. And the best chance to restock should be in the draft, not in free agency.
The Steelers should have a good shot at getting one of the top interior defensive linemen in the draft with the 20th overall selection — either Georgia’s massive Jordan Davis (6-6, 341), who stunned the NFL combine last week when he ran a 4.78 in the 40-yard dash; or his teammate, Devonte Wyatt (63, 207). With so much focus on edge rushers in the draft, defensive tackles tend to drop lower than they should in the first round.
Three of their top four defensive linemen — Tuitt, Alualu and Wormley — will become free agents after the season, another indication why the Steelers need to restock their defensive line. Right now, the only player who looks like a sure bet to be resigned is Wormley, and that’sno guarantee either.
The Steelers need to address their lines of scrimmage in the offseason if they want to build the foundation Rooney suggests. And they can start by paying more attention and infusing some quality youth on the defensive line.