On more than one occasion this offseason, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle DeMarvin Leal was floated as a trade candidate. It’s a good thing those hypothetical situations didn’t come to fruition because he’s about to see increased opportunities after the injury to outside linebacker Alex Highsmith.
Leal, a third-round pick by the Steelers in the 2022 NFL draft, has been painfully slow to come on. He’s appeared in 26 games with six starts, logging four passes defended, a sack and 32 total tackles.
Mike Tomlin is a big fan of his players’ ability to handle multiple positions and Leal is no different.
“Speaking of positional flexibility, man, Leal, throughout team development, has been playing outside linebacker and defensive line. He did so last year, so it’s not anything new for him.”
Tomlin sees no issue with Leal stepping into whatever role it happens to be.
“I don’t view that as a significant issue in terms of him elevating and getting more opportunity; it’s more of the same, really. It’s probably more of what he desires to do because he definitively wants to play. This guy has had a good team development process and I’m excited about what he’s going to do with increase opportunities.”
According to Pro Football Focus premium stats, the majority of Leal’s snaps have been taken at right end (78), but he could be tasked with playing a rotational role behind Nick Herbig while Highsmith goes through the process of healing his groin injury. Leal has played 36 snaps on the left and 56 on the right during his career.
