Steelers might be searching for defensive line depth
Former Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett smiles during Texas A&M NFL Pro Day at the NCAA football team's indoor training facility, Thursday, Match 30, 2017, in College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)
Former Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett speaks to the media during Texas A&M Pro Day at the NCAA football team’s indoor training facility March 30 in College Station, Texas. The event showcased players for the upcoming NFL draft.
With the addition of promising young nose tackle Javon Hargrave last season and Tyson Alualu this year, the Steelers have four lineman around which they can build their defense.
But, as the team has learned in each of the previous two seasons, defensive line depth is like money and hair on your head – you can never have enough.
The Steelers have been forced to play without star defensive ends Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt for stretches in each of the past two seasons. And while Pittsburgh has cobbled together things with its defensive front well enough to reach the playoffs in those seasons, the way the Steelers want to play defense is impacted by the effectiveness of its line.
Defensive coordinator Keith Butler wants to rush opposing quarterbacks without blitzing often, meaning the Steelers need more of a pass rush from their line. And having Heyward, Tuitt and Hargrave – the three starters – play fewer snaps, and thus be fresher later into games, is something Pittsburgh would like to accomplish.
That is why, when the NFL holds its draft April 27-29 it wouldn’t be surprising to see Pittsburgh add another defensive lineman to its roster. The Steelers have eight selections in the seven-round draft, including the 30th pick in the first round and two third-round choices.
There are some intriguing options this year in what is considered an excellent draft for pass rushers. And Pittsburgh could even consider taking a player who is more of a traditional 4-3 defensive end to compliment its nickel defense, which it plays about 70 percent of the time.
Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett and Stanford’s Solomon Thomas are considered the two best defensive ends in this draft and will most certainly be among the top five players selected.
Alabama defensive tackle Jonathan Allen also is considered a top-10 prospect, and Michigan State’s Malik McDowell should hear his name called in the first 25 picks.
A player who could intrigue the Steelers is massive Tanoh Kpassagnon of Villanova, which is known more as a basketball school than for its football.
At 6-7, 289 pounds, Kpassagnon (pronounced pass-N-yo) has more of a basketball build than he does that of a football player. He packed on 70 pounds while starring for the Wildcats and finished his career strong, recording 45 tackles, including 21 1/2 for loss, last season with 11 sacks, two forced fumbles and a blocked kick.
He had three tackles, including two for a loss, and a quarterback hurry working primarily against left tackle Adam Bisnowaty in Villanova’s 28-7 loss to Pitt last season.
Kpassagnon, who already has degrees from Villanova in finance and accounting, played well at the Senior Bowl, then had a strong NFL Draft Combine to alleviate some concerns regarding his level of competition in college.
The level of competition didn’t seem to matter to former Wildcats standouts Brian Westbrook and Howie Long, both of whom had long NFL careers.
“The big question was whether I could hang with the better competition,” Kpassagnon, considered a mid-round prospect, said of the Senior Bowl and combine. “I think it helped me. I showed I could.”
While Kpsassagnon is considered a project, the Steelers like to have a young defensive lineman or two on the roster to groom for the future. And Kpassagnon could compete right away for a roster spot with L.T. Walton and Johnny Maxie, both of whom were forced into duty when Heyward was lost for the season with a torn pectoral muscle in late October.
Another player the Steelers could look at is Toledo nose tackle Treyvon Hester, a Penn Hills graduate.
A 6-2, 300-pound bowling ball, Hester dropped 20 pounds for his senior season and recorded 39 tackles, including eight for loss and a team-best five sacks.
Alualu, a former first-round draft pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars, has starting experience at both nose tackle and defensive end, something that made him attractive to the Steelers. But Pittsburgh could be ready to give up on 2014 sixth-round draft pick Daniel McCullers as a backup nose tackle.