Who Will Step Up In D-Line Room Behind Cameron Heyward?

Who will step up in the defensive line room behind Cameron Heyward?

And to be very clear, “nobody” is a legitimate answer. I’m not talking about the rest of the starting lineup with Keeanu Benton and Larry Ogunjobi. I’m talking about who else in that defensive line room is going to be an asset behind Cameron Heyward.

We all know that Heyward is potentially in his last season with the Steelers. He wants to play for three more years, but time will tell if he needs to find another team after 2024. But either way, at 35 years old, the Steelers need to start finding somebody who can step up behind Heyward.

And I don’t know that they have anybody. Is DeMarvin Leal the best answer? He has the most talent as a former third-round pick, but he finished the 2023 season on the bench. I don’t see Isaiahh Loudermilk taking his game to another level in Year 4. And Logan Lee will struggle to even make the roster, let alone make his case as a successor to Heyward.

The most experienced depth players the Steelers have are Montravius Adams and Dean Lowry. And if we’re being blunt, not even Ogunjobi has lived up to expectations. It’s not hard to feel as though they don’t have anybody on the current roster who would succeed Heyward in the starting lineup by 2025.

Will somebody change our minds by this time next year? Or will the Steelers have to draft their next starter? Really, they might need two because Heyward and Ogunjobi could be gone. The Steelers owe Ogunjobi $7 million next season, and that’s pure cap savings minus displacement. We will have to see come March if they feel Ogunjobi is worth that in 2025. The Steelers evidently think Heyward is worth $16 million in 2024, though. What is he worth to them next year, especially if they don’t have anybody else?

The Steelers’ 2023 season has been put out of its misery, ending as so many have before in recent years: a disappointing, blowout playoff loss. The only change-up lately is when they miss the playoffs altogether. But with the Buffalo Bills stamping them out in the Wildcard Round, they have another long offseason ahead.

The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Does Russell Wilson make them a Super Bowl-caliber team, or are they wasting a year? Will he play just one season in Pittsburgh before moving on, or the Steelers moving on from him? How will the team address the depth chart?

The Steelers are past free agency and the draft and their roster for the 2024 season is coming into focus. They made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.