Defensive tackle? Edge defender? DeMarvin Leal ‘just a big athlete’ making impact with Steelers
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When the Pittsburgh Steelers scatter after practices to retreat to position-specific rooms, DeMarvin Leal is lucky he has no identity crisis.
Despite the presence of separate coaches for the defensive line (Karl Dunbar) and outside linebackers (Denzel Martin), the Steelers’ defensive tackles and edge defenders convene together, both on the practice field warming up as well as for meetings.
That’s fortunate for Leal, the Steelers’ second-year defensive linema- er … well, their second-year … um, defender.
What do you call a player who during his rookie season showed such varied versatility that he regularly lined up at as many spots as any member of the Steelers’ front seven?
“I just call him ‘a big athlete,’ ” Dunbar said during minicamp last month. “I don’t get into labels or positions. He’s just a big athlete. And when you’ve got big athletes, man, you do whatever you want with them.”
Did the Steelers ever with Leal as a rookie last season. According to Pro Football Focus, Leal played 43 snaps at what it terms defensive tackle, 55 as a defensive end, 69 at outside linebacker — and six as an inside linebacker.
“It didn’t mirror my college (career) at all,” Leal said of his rookie season, “because last year, shoot, I was, like, a middle linebacker at one point! And that wasn’t the case at all in college.
“There’s definitely different things that I came here and have done, and I just expended that much more athleticism just trying to show everything I can do.”
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The Steelers talked up Leal’s versatility upon drafting him in the third round last year, but in doing so, more spoke of his ability to play at all spots on the interior defensive line — as in, “end” when in a “base” defense and “tackle” in the nickel, as well as an occasional snap at nose tackle when one was deployed.
Few could have envisioned Leal would be coming off the edge as much as he was over 11 games as a rookie (he missed six on injured reserve because of a torn meniscus). As they say, necessity is the mother of invention, and the Steelers were both thin and injury-riddled at outside linebacker last season.
Still, when Leal — in only his second NFL game — lined up so much in a two-point stance across from an offensive tackle during the Steelers’ home opener against New England, it was jarring to those who watched. Even during his rookie training camp and preseason, Leal took no appreciable reps from the edge.
“I was just doing what I was told,” Leal, almost shrugging, said after an organized team activities session this summer.
“I definitely did way more (position-wise) than I thought I was (going to), but I was prepared for it. Just had to listen to what I had to do and ask the questions I needed to ask — and everything else just took care of itself.”
Listed at 6-foot-4, 290 pounds, Leal has a body more fit for a defensive lineman. And truth be told, his long-term future probably holds much more playing time in the interior than on the outside. But the Steelers’ defensive staff wasn’t afraid to deploy Leal as something of a chess piece against an offense, lining him up at myriad spots.
Leal’s versatility also can help blunt the loss of an outside linebacker to injury — or he can even just earn more snaps by sliding into the OLB rotation while simultaneously rotating into the D-line.
“He can play inside, and he can play outside,” Dunbar said. “Not a lot of guys can do that. (All-Pro Steelers defensive lineman Cam Heyward) tries to stand up on the outside — but he’s not an outside guy, he’s an inside guy. So to have that ability is great for (Leal) — and awesome for us.”
.@steelers 2-a-days: Will DL DeMarvin Leal play on edge? Can Isaiahh Loudermilk take step in Year 3? https://t.co/d923cfFWz3
— Tribune-Review Sports (@TribSports) July 7, 2023
If Leal can get snaps inside and outside, it might provide him a chance to play a starter’s share of snaps without being a “starter.” Because Heyward and Larry Ogunjobi have NFL track records and high salaries, neither is getting unseated as the primary players on the defensive interior.
Rookie second-round pick Keeanu Benton also is in line for playing time, Montravius Adams is a returning starter, Isaiahh Loudermilk still is considered an ascending player and recently acquired veterans such as Armon Watts, Breiden Fehoko, Jonathan Marshall and Manny Jones add to the logjam on the Steelers’ defensive line.
Leal’s unique versatility is a trait none of the others have.
“For Leal, it’s just being confident in what you’re doing out there,” said Heyward, the Steelers’ longtime defensive captain. “He got a lot of playing time and was counted on to play a lot of different spots. So, now let’s see what you can do with a year under your belt.”
Dunbar noted Leal’s football intelligence, and it shows via the introspective way Leal talks about his young career. He knows versatility is his strong suit, and he knows that has helped because he’s gotten to see the game from different perspectives.
The key going forward will be threading the needle by maintaining enough size and strength to be on the interior while still being quick and athletic enough to play standing up.
“You have got to find the right in-between space,” Leal said, “and I think I’ve found that.”
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