It’s not that the Pittsburgh Steelers have massive issues along their defensive line. When you have T.J. Watt blowing tackles up from outside, and Cameron Heyward blowing everyone up from everywhere, that’s a pretty good place to start. But Pittsburgh did fall from second in the NFL in Football Outsiders’ Defensive Adjusted Line Yards metric in 2020 to 19th in 2021. A primary reason for that drop was the absence of defensive tackle Stephon Tuitt, who played very well in 2020, and missed the entire 2021 season. Tuitt left the team after his brother was struck and killed by a car during OTAs, and a knee injury complicated the picture. Tuitt announced his retirement from the NFL on June 1.
Pittsburgh selected Texas A&M defensive tackle DeMarvin Leal in the third round of the 2022 draft, but Leal is a smaller (6-foot-4, 283 pounds) player than the 6-foot-6, 303-pound Tuitt, and there’s no guarantee that Leal will come in and have the same kind of impact Tuitt did in 2020, when he totaled 12 sacks, 71 total pressures, and 31 stops.
Which is why the Steelers signed former Browns and Bengals defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi on Monday. Selected in the third round of the 2017 draft out of Charlotte, spent four seasons in Cleveland, and signed a one-year deal with Cincinnati last year. Ogunjobi’s 2021 season, which saw him tally eight sacks, 41 total pressures, and 31 stops, was his best campaign to date, and the Steelers have certainly seen enough of him in the AFC North to make this one-year deal automatic.
All praise to the most high. Let’s work. https://t.co/PJql8ZkzN9
— Larry Ogunjobi – KingOlu.eth (@Mr_Ogunjobi) June 21, 2022
Pittsburgh tried to piece their interior defensive line together last season with Heyward, Montravius Adams, Chris Wormley, and a cast of guys, but it wasn’t the same without Tuitt — especially late in the season, when Heyward had to put forth a superhuman effort on every down just to get disruption. With Ogunjobi on board, that won’t be a problem anymore. Heyward is going to get most of the double-teams inside, and Ogunjobi has what it takes to make that a real issue for opposing offensive lines. On this sack of Drew Lock in Week 15, Ogunjobi (No. 65) rode left guard Dalton Risner’s outside shoulder to the pocket, and Risner never stood a chance.
And if Pittsburgh’s defensive staff wants to put Heyward and Ogunjobi stacked to the center to make those protection calls a bit tougher, as the Bengals did on this play against the Vikings in Week 1 with Ogunjobi and D.J. Reader, you might wind up with a tackle for loss like this, with Ogunjobi knifing through the double. An unpleasant experience for Dalvin Cook.
Having Ogunjobi on the field gives Heyward room to operate, gives Leal time to develop, and adds an excellent disruptor to a defense that will have to be top-tier if the Steelers are to make their postseason aspirations real in 2022.
