The Pittsburgh Steelers have placed a significant emphasis on rebuilding the defensive line room in recent years. Through the first week and a half of training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, that rebuild up front is starting to show its potential.<\/p>\n
Second-year pros Yahya Black and Derrick Harmon continue to receive a ton of praise from teammates<\/a> and coaches, while veteran Keeanu Benton is stepping into a new role that will benefit him better long-term.<\/p>\n Depth is in a great spot, too, with veterans like Sebastian Joseph-Day, Dean Lowry and Esezi Otomewo bringing a ton of experience. And you can\u2019t forget about the future Hall of Famer Cam Heyward, either.<\/p>\n That depth has new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham thrilled with what he has to work with in the trenches.<\/p>\n \u201cThat came from how Omar [Khan] and their staff put together the roster. We have a lot of options,\u201d Graham said of the defensive line room, according to video via the team\u2019s site.<\/a> \u201cAgain, the profile they\u2019ve established here and haven\u2019t really strayed from it, I applaud them, because I know myself when I started, \u2018Oh, it\u2019s a passing league, passing league.\u2019 And we start getting smaller and smaller, different places I\u2019ve been. I love the fact that they stay with the profile. It shows discipline in the organization. That\u2019s why they win all the time, and that\u2019s why I\u2019m happy to be here. But in terms of the depth, it starts there. And now as they compete, you really see them bringing out the best in one another.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it\u2019s hard to compete in that room, because you have quality guys who \u2014 I don\u2019t wanna give away a number \u2014 but there\u2019s gonna be a lot of guys from that room that are gonna be playing NFL football,\u201d Graham added.<\/p>\n Just a few short years ago, the Steelers were a mess along the defensive line. Stephon Tuitt\u2019s unexpected retirement hurt<\/a>, as did losing Javon Hargrave in a salary cap crunch. The free agent signing of Larry Ogunjobi didn\u2019t quite work out, and the drafting of DeMarvin Leal was largely a bust as a \u2018tweener.<\/p>\n