Steelers Have Fix for Last Defensive Hole

The Pittsburgh Steelers refrained from splurging for a top-end talent on the interior of the defensive line in free agency, leaving them with a hole at the position heading into the NFL Draft.

General manager Omar Khan appears confident in the team's current assortment of options there, however, which may have influenced that decision.

"I like the group we have," Khan said at the NFL league meetings. "We did sign [Daniel] Ekuale, he's done some really good things. Logan Lee is healthy, he has a chance to step up and be a part of it. But you know, I feel good about some of the guys we have on the line."

Ekuale is the Steelers' highest-profile addition, per se, at defensive tackle so far this offseason. He agreed to a one-year deal worth $2.8 million with the team on March 16 after starting 16 games for the New England Patriots in 2024, during which he logged 52 tackles.

The 31-year-old is entering the seventh year of his career and should provide valuable depth as a solid run defender. He is among the current favorites to start alongside Cameron Heyward and Keeanu Benton following Larry Ogunjobi's release, but Pittsburgh rosters a bevy of other veterans such as Montravius Adams and Dean Lowry who may also push for snaps.

With Lee, who missed his entire rookie campaign last year due to a calf injury, and Isaiahh Loudermilk back in the fold as well, there's plenty of players on the depth chart who will have opportunities to prove themselves this summer.

The issue, however, is that Pittsburgh doesn't have a clear long-term starter in place beyond Heyward and Benton. Head coach Mike Tomlin isn't panicking though, as he believes there's plenty of time before the draft to sort the situation out before declaring the position as a true need.

"You know, I think that we're open to acquiring good players at all positions, and I don't know that we've placed a pecking order, if you will, on positional needs as we sit here today," Tomlin said. "I'm not saying that we won't, I'm just saying that there's a lot of time between now and the Draft, and oftentimes the information that we collect between now and then, whether it's us or the needs of other people or the depths of the pools at the positions, a lot of things go into to weighing the ‘need’ component, and so we're just not there yet."

The expectation is that the Steelers will select a defensive tackle with one of their first picks, as Michigan's Kenneth Grant and Oregon's Derrick Harmon are potential first-round targets. Furthermore, there should be enticing prospects left on the board come Day 2 as well.

While there's still work left to do, it doesn't appear as though Khan or Tomlin feel pressured to find a solution and will examine the circumstances closely before making a significant move.