Steelers A to Z: Is it going too far to expect a star turn from DT Keeanu Benton’s 2nd season?

Editor’s note: From now until the first practice of training camp at Saint Vincent College, TribLive is running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, looking at each player and assessing his outlook for the 2024 season. The breakdown will run in alphabetical order with at least two players each day between June 14 and July 25. Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.

DT Keeanu Benton

Experience/age: 2^nd season, turns 23 next month

Contract status: $1.67 million cap hit in 2024, signed through 2026

The past: The second of the Steelers’ two second-round picks last year, Benton didn’t carry the profile of the player the Steelers took before him. After all, Joey Porter Jr. had a father star for the team, and the younger Porter played at North Allegheny High School and Penn State. But Benton arguably has so far appeared to have been just as good of a draft pick for the Steelers. Benton immediately was playing a significant role on defense and by the midway point of his rookie season had ascended to starter status. While officially that only was represented at nose tackle, Benton played all up and down the Steelers’ defensive line and by the end of the season every bit belonged on par with veteran starters Cameron Heyward and Larry Ogunjobi. One of the long line of defensive players the Steelers have drafted out of Wisconsin in recent years, Benton finished 2023 with 36 tackles (16 solo, one for loss) with one sack, two batted-down balls and two forced fumbles. In Pro Football Focus’ subjective grading, Benton rated better than any Steelers defensive lineman who played at least 300 defensive snaps last season and was among the top 20 in the NFL.

2024 outlook: Coach Mike Tomlin did not hold back when asked about Benton during the season wrap-up news conference in January: “I think he’s capable of being dominant, sooner rather than later.”

Benton obviously could add some production to his raw stats. But watching games and examining the game film show that he was anything and everything the Steelers could have reasonably expected from a second-round pick rookie defensive lineman. That’s good because the organization has long been in the need of an injection of youth at his position – Heyward is 35 and Ogunjobi 30. At 6 feet 4, 309 pounds and with quick feet, Benton has ideal size to fill almost any role in the Steelers’ scheme. He’s expected to rank with Heyward and Ogunjobi as by far the Steelers’ three most-used defensive linemen this season. And it’s safe to assume that the Steelers view him as a longterm cornerstone for the defense well into the rest of this decade.

While NFL history is littered with players who regress after solid rookie seasons, Benton by all indications has the demeanor and work ethic to get the most out of his considerable talent. Tomlin loves to speak how he expects second-year players to take the biggest leap of their careers. If that’s true with Benton, it’s not unreasonable to expect he could end up taking a star turn for the Steelers.