With T.J. Watt out of action two years ago because of injury, the Steelers moved defensive tackle DeMarvin Leal to outside linebacker at times to help offset the issue of not having the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year available.
At 6-foot-4, 290 pounds at the time, Leal didn't quite look like Watt working on the edge. But he held his own, even though he didn't record a sack in those games in which he bumped outside, recording four tackles, including one for a loss, in a game against the Jets, and a pair of pass defenses the following week against Buffalo.
With the additions of Nick Herbig via the draft and Markus Golden in free agency last season, the Steelers' experimentation with Leal as a standup defensive end in their sub-packages wasn't necessary, as the team had plenty of depth behind Watt and Alex Highsmith.
But after Golden was re-signed earlier in August and then retired a week later, the need for a fourth edge rusher when the Steelers go to their nickel and dime defenses has once again thrown Leal's name back into the mix.
"I think he's had a heck of a camp. He's probably in the best shape that he's been in since we drafted him," Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said Tuesday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
"He could play inside, he could play outside. He's that athletic. I don't want to jinx anybody, especially him, but he's, he's done a heck of a job. And if we need him to play outside linebacker, he absolutely could."
Leal showed that ability once again in last Saturday's 9-3 preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills, lining up as a stand-up defensive end in the team's nickel package.
The 2022 third-round draft pick spent the offseason working hard on his body, not necessarily to lose weight, but to be better prepared for the rigors of the NFL season. Those workouts naturally caused him to shed the weight he had put on earlier in his career.
"It's just kind of how it happened and getting to it, and my body went the way it wanted to go," Leal said.
Thing is, he's still capable of playing inside at defensive tackle, as well, perhaps giving the Steelers some flexibility when it comes to roster construction.
They still have Watt and Highsmith as perhaps the NFL's top starting duo of edge rushers. And Herbig, who had three sacks and two forced fumbles as a rookie in 2023, has looked every bit the part of a player who has made a big jump heading into his second NFL season.
"He's making a really nice jump," Austin said of Herbig, who had four tackles and 1.5 sacks against the Bills. "He's had a really good camp. Explosive. Loves ball, all the good things that you want in a football player. And he's continuing to develop. And so I like where he's going."
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Figuring out who might be the fourth guy, however, could come down to special teams. And if Leal shows he can be that fourth option, it might allow the Steelers to keep an additional player at another position with special teams in mind.
The Steelers also have Jeremiah Moon, Kyron Johnson, Julius Welschof and Jacoby Windmon working at outside linebacker behind Watt, Highsmith and Herbig.
Leal is certainly open to playing both on the edge and at defensive tackle.
"Definitely," he said. "It's about being able to know the difference in the techniques inside and out and being able to get to the QB."
"It's something I've always been able to do. And it's actually doing it and showing it."
Leal did some of that at Texas A&M, where he had 8.5 sacks in his final season in 2021, playing both defensive tackle and defensive end.
Having the athleticism to do both and understanding the differences in what is being asked at both spots isn't as easy as some might think. The differences in offensive linemen faced and what is being asked schematically are two of the biggest contrasts.
But Leal has worked to minimize those issues.
"I've worked this season to be able to go inside and out, different pass rushes, speed and power for both positions, so I'm putting that on display," Leal said.
