The news of Alex Highsmith's four-year contract extension is not just creating ripple effects across the league; it is sure to be felt throughout the rest of the locker room as the Steelers convene in Latrobe for training camp in one week.
Highsmith was the breakout player of the Steelers' defense in 2022. His five forced fumbles tied for first in the NFL, his 14.5 sacks led the Steelers and were sixth-most in the NFL, and his 12 tackles for loss were two off of Cam Heyward's team-leading pace last season.
With T.J. Watt missing seven games last season, Highsmith slid right in as the dominant force the Steelers revolve their patented 3-4 defense around, and he delivered and then some.
With Highsmith on board for four seasons beyond this, and with Watt healthy and ready to go for 2023, here are four Steelers around them who could break out:
1. Keeanu Benton, defensive tackle
Maybe it's because I'm high on Benton. Maybe it's because I saw Benton work hand-to-hand with Heyward during OTAs and minicamp. But, for what ever the reason might be, I have a gut feeling Benton is going to play above his draft slotting throughout his career, and that can begin this season.
Why am I so high on Benton? Let's go back to a former first-round defensive tackle for a comparison.
This defensive tackle -- picked in 2010 -- ran a 5.03-second 40-yard dash, a 7.21-second three-cone, measured at 6-foot-3, and weighed 307 pounds. His hands measured at 10 1/4 inches wide and his arms measured 33 1/2 inches long.
Benton's comparables from his Combine: 5.07-second 40-yard dash, 7.34-second three-cone, 6-foot-4, 309 pounds, 9 3/4-inch hand width, 33 7/8-inch arm length.
Player A was the second overall pick in the 2010 draft, Ndamukong Suh.
Suh made it to five Pro Bowls, three All-Pro teams, was the Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year, and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-2010s team. So, maybe Benton doesn't accomplish all of that, but physically speaking, he has the build to be an NFL defensive tackle. He has been lauded for his quickness -- with Larry Ogunjobi calling him a "dancing bear" during minicamp.
"I think Benton could be a nose tackle, he can be a defensive end because he's a big, 6-3-and-a-half, 315-pound kid who can run," defensive line coach Karl Dunbar said. "The maturation process is going to take place to see if he can catch onto what we can do, because I think he can be physical because you've seen that in college, but will it transfer to pro ball?"
Here's betting it does.
2. DeMarvin Leal, defensive end
During OTAs, Leal said this about how many positions he filled in at last season:
"I honestly couldn't tell you. I didn't keep track. I was just going what I was told. ... I definitely did way more than I thought I was, but I was prepared for it. Just had to listen, know what I needed to do, ask the questions that I needed to ask, and hen everything else was going to take care of itself."
That is likely not going to be the case in 2023, and Leal could stand to benefit from becoming a master of one trade instead of a jack of all.
Or, as Dunbar put it during minicamp:
"I just call him ‘a big athlete,’” Dunbar said. “I don’t get into labels or positions. He’s just a big athlete. And when you’ve got big athletes, man, you do whatever you want with them.”
Leal played 69 snaps at outside linebacker, 55 snaps at defensive end, 43 at defensive tackle, and six snaps at inside linebacker last season. He surely won't have to go to that extent this season with overhauls done at defensive tackle and inside linebacker. Look for him to settle in behind Heyward and Ogunjobi along the defensive line and see how he can utilize his athleticism to get to the quarterback and stop the run as an effective rotation player.
3. Elandon Roberts, inside linebacker
One of Cole Holcomb, Mark Robinson, or Roberts will have to make a big step this year if the Steelers defense wants to be elite. I'll bank on it being Roberts.
The 29-year-old has not been the best pass-covering linebacker over the course of his seven-year career, but he has steadily improved as a pass rusher and run stopper, which is exactly what the Steelers need him to be. According to Pro Football Focus, his pass-rush grade of 89.2 led all NFL inside linebackers in 2022.
Now, those plays will be few and far between each other, but the run defense grade of 68.5 from last season was his best since the 2018 season, so the trajectory on Roberts as a run stopper is at least pointing upward.
Holcomb is not as savvy on the pass rush, and he graded similarly to Roberts as a run stopper. His pass coverage grade of 67.0 easily bucks Roberts' 52.1 from last season, so there is a role for Holcomb within the defense. Neither of this three might be the Ryan Shazier that we have been looking for over recent memory, but Roberts feels the most likely to surprise out of these three if there is one.
4. Chandon Sullivan, cornerback
In my conversation with the Steelers' newest slot cornerback in late May, I gathered that Sullivan truly embraces the skillset it takes to be an effective cornerback in the slot in the NFL. I also helps that he gets to line up next to Patrick Peterson again, just as the duo did in Minnesota in 2022.
“It’s kind of cool. Another year with Pat P," Sullivan told me during OTAs. "He’s like an older brother to me. We hang out outside football. He’s kind of like a mentor, so I’m excited to be back around here and be around guys like Levi (Wallace). We were on the same Senior Bowl team coming out, and it’s just fun.”
He played 2,200 out of nearly 3,000 total career snaps inside the slot, a role that clearly suits the 5-foot-11, 189-pound cornerback. According to Pro Football Focus, Sullivan was heavily tested by opposing offenses by being targeted 91 times, tied for fourth in the league.
Peterson helped recruit Sullivan to Pittsburgh, too, as Peterson signed in March and Sullivan in April during the draft. Sullivan is a physical cornerback and allowed just one touchdown last season and can prove as another fine piece to a budding secondary remade over the offseason with the additions of Peterson, Joey Porter Jr., Cory Trice Jr., and Keanu Neal alongside him.
