{"id":366322,"date":"2025-09-14T02:50:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T02:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/366322\/"},"modified":"2025-09-14T02:50:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T02:50:12","slug":"steelers-dc-admits-they-havent-settled-on-yahya-blacks-best-position-yet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/366322\/","title":{"rendered":"Steelers DC Admits They Haven’t Settled On Yahya Black’s Best Position Yet"},"content":{"rendered":"

While the Steelers have Yahya Black playing defensive end right now<\/a>, DC Teryl Austin admits they haven\u2019t settled on a long-term position. Having repeatedly acknowledged that Black can play up and down the line, he said they are still figuring things out.<\/p>\n

Asked if they have found the spot that best suits Yahya Black, Austin said, \u201cNot yet,\u201d via the Steelers\u2019 media department. \u201cI think he\u2019s capable of doing both, but I think right now early, we\u2019ve had him at the 4, opposite of Cam [Heyward] out there because a lot of times that stuff in there at the nose happens really fast in terms of the different type of blocking schemes, what kind of center you\u2019re dealing with, all the pinpoint stuff that happens. But he\u2019s working, and I would be willing to bet he\u2019ll be one of those guys that has flexibility to play up and down the line when it\u2019s all said and done.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Austin has previously expressed belief that Black could play nose tackle, he never seemed to leave the door open about that being his eventual position. Of course, the \u201cnose tackle\u201d position today is somewhat of a non sequitur<\/a>. Keeanu Benton is the Steelers\u2019 current nose tackle, but they primarily play out of a nickel front. The nose tackle is a sub-package position, akin to the \u201cnickel back\u201d of yore, which is now essentially a starter.<\/p>\n

The concern is that Benton did not play well in the season opener. Even before the season began, many wondered if Benton ought to move outside. Some thought they should draft a nose tackle high and move Benton. Instead, they drafted Derrick Harmon, a plug-and-play defensive end. However, they later added Yahya Black, a big body who can nevertheless move around.<\/p>\n

Austin also talked about not wanting to put too much on Black\u2019s plate, which is part of the reason they haven\u2019t had him shifting positions. However, it very much sounds like it\u2019s something that will be in the cards in the future. After all, if he\u2019s not starting, he\u2019ll need to be versatile. Until Cam Heyward retires, there isn\u2019t likely to be a starting job up for grabs.<\/p>\n

Yahya Black played 24 snaps in his Steelers debut on Sunday, splitting time with Isaiahh Loudermilk. He recorded two tackles, both of them assists on run stops against RB Breece Hall. Still, the Jets ran all over the Steelers on the day.<\/p>\n

With Derrick Harmon set to miss at least one more game, will the Steelers tweak the pecking order? Austin suggested that Black could play more against Seattle<\/a>, which should mean fewer snaps for Loudermilk. It all depends on their comfort level\u2014and the flow of the game. But they believe he will be a high-level run defender<\/a>, and they need to stop the run, so\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While the Steelers have Yahya Black playing defensive end right now, DC Teryl Austin admits they haven\u2019t settled…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":318115,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[7,6,30261,691,2085],"class_list":{"0":"post-366322","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-nfl","10":"tag-teryl-austin","11":"tag-trending","12":"tag-yahya-black"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115200381680365333","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=366322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366322\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/318115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=366322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=366322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=366322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}