Steelers’ Alex Highsmith shows pass-rush potential with Hall of Fame Game spin move

At the start of his second NFL season, Steelers edge-rusher Alex Highsmith is already showing that he has what it takes to be a key cog in a great defense.

In 2020, the Steelers had the NFL’s best defense, and a lot of that came from their incendiary pass rush. Pittsburgh led the league in sacks with 56, and only the Ravens and Dolphins blitzed more often than the Steelers’ 40.3% rate. A big part of that was edge defender Bud Dupree, who amassed eight sacks and 43 total pressures before a torn ACL ended his season in Week 12.

Dupree is now in Tennessee after signing a five-year, $82.5 million contract with the Titans. That leaves the Steelers looking for T.J. Watt’s ideal bookend, and the guy who can work optimally with Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt, Pittsburgh’s dynamic inside defenders. Veteran Melvin Ingram is on board with a one-year contract, and if he can stay healthy, I think Ingram can be a big part of the pass rush.

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There are other options for head coach Mike Tomlin and his staff, though. Alex Highsmith, selected in the third round of the 2000 draft out of Charlotte, had two sacks and 21 total pressures in his inaugural NFL campaign, and he saw more time late in the season after Dupree was hurt. 17 of Highsmith’s pressures came in his last six games, which augured well for his future.

Highsmith wasted no time in proving that he was able to bring it in Year two with this sack of Cowboys quarterback Garrett Gilbert with 7:51 left in the first quarter of the Hall of Fame Game. Highsmith put Dallas left tackle Ty Nsekhe through the spin cycle, and that was that.

“In regards to the loss of Bud and the expectations and the depth and things at that position, the lynchpin to that entire discussion is the natural maturation of Alex Highsmith from Year 1 to Year 2,” Tomlin said of Highsmith in April. “You know the standard of expectations that we have for our young players moving from [Year] 1 to [Year] 2. He could be the poster boy for that. We need a significant rise in terms of all areas of play from him. But I also think it’s reasonable to expect it given what he’s been exposed to, given the quality young man that he is and his work ethic and the environment we intend to put him in. I think it’s reasonable to expect him to rise up and meet the challenges.”

It’s early yet, but so far, Highsmith looks like a natural fit as a potential starter in this great defense.