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3 Steelers breakout candidates, 1 player who will disappoint in 2023 season

By Cody Williams

PITTSBURGH, PA - OCTOBER 02: Kenny Pickett #8 of the Pittsburgh Steelers huddles with teammates during the game against the New York Jets at Acrisure Stadium on October 2, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - OCTOBER 02: Kenny Pickett #8 of the Pittsburgh Steelers huddles with teammates during the game against the New York Jets at Acrisure Stadium on October 2, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) /
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Keeanu Benton, Steelers breakout candidates
Keeanu Benton #95 of the Wisconsin Badgers celebrates after a fumble recovery during the first half against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Camp Randall Stadium on October 30, 2021 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

These Steelers breakout candidates could be in line for big years in the 2023 season, but one player in Pittsburgh will fall short of expectations. 

Mike Tomlin maintained his remarkable streak of not having a losing season last year as the Pittsburgh Steelers finished at 9-8. But it’s difficult to feel wholly good about that when the club still fell short of making the playoffs.

It’s clear that the Steelers front office felt the same after the way they smartly but aggressively went about their offseason, adding vigorously to a leaky secondary, taking two big swings to improve the offensive line, and adding several other impact players on both sides of the ball.

With the roster changes, there are indeed high hopes for Pittsburgh in the 2023 season. And if these Steelers breakout candidates can outplay expectations as I expect them to, the club should live up to those high hopes — even if one player in particular is primed to disappoint the fan base.

Steelers breakout candidate No. 3: Keeanu Benton, NT

It’s a bit of cheating to call for a rookie to be a breakout candidate, but there are always exceptions. And with what the Steelers’ second-round pick could be capable of in the middle of the defensive front in his maiden NFL campaign, he’s definitely an exception in my book.

Even as a nose tackle for much of his career at Wisconsin, Benton was still disruptive with 7.0 sacks and 15.0 tackles for loss over his junior and senior seasons (24 games). But when you turn on the tape, you see a highly explosive player for someone who is in a 6-foot-4, 317-pound frame, a player who, with NFL coaching, could be an absolute force on the interior.

After the Steelers drafted Benton, Chris Adamski of Trib Live compared the newcomer to former Steeler Javon Hargrave in terms of what fans can expect as a rookie, but perhaps even better. Hargrave was a key part of the defensive line in a rotational role immediately, but with Benton after experience at Wisconsin should be more polished and play an even bigger part on the defensive line.

Particularly with Cameron Heyward, T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, among others, demanding so much attention around Benton, expect the rookie to be a force clogging up lanes against the run but really breaking out with 5-6 sacks in his first NFL campaign as he comes into his own as a true game-wrecker on the interior.

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