Now that the last game of the 2023 NFL season has come to a conclusion, the entire NFL is in full-blown offseason mode. As both the Steelers, as well as we here at the Steel Curtain Network, prepare for the start of the 2024 league years and the associated free agency period, as well as the 2024 NFL draft, it’s good before we get too far into the process of looking at next season to look back at some various things from the 2023 Steelers.

As I continue to work through the Exit Interviews article series of covering every player from the 2023 Steelers and their status for 2024, another fun idea is to check out last year‘s rookie class and what was said about them before the 2023 NFL draft. With all the analysis looking at 2024, sometimes it’s fun just to see how much those profiling players got things right, or wrong.

Continuing on, here are some of the various draft breakdowns for defensive lineman Keeanu Benton last offseason heading into the 2023 NFL draft.

Pro Football Network

Full report HERE

Current Draft Projection for Wisconsin DT Keeanu Benton

Benton grades as a top-75 prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft on my board. He’s worth consideration anywhere in the Day 2 range and could very well be a top-50 pick when it’s all said and done. There is some projection to Benton’s profile, but the Wisconsin DT — who turns 22 years old in July — has a tantalizing profile and playstyle.

At 6’4″, 309 pounds, with near-34″ arms, Benton has great density and proportional length, and as his testing indicated, he’s a stellar athlete with burst, energy, and flashes of lateral agility when offsetting linemen. On top of that athletic foundation, he’s a violent attacker with heavy hands, overwhelming play strength, and the power to jar blockers at contact with forceful strikes.

Benton has the raw strength, violence off the snap, and football IQ to demolish lanes as a one-gapper in run defense. Meanwhile, as a pass rusher, his mix of burst and power — combined with his hot motor — yields immense potential, and when he’s on his game, his power rushes and arm-over moves can be devastating. He showed that potential in one-on-ones at the Senior Bowl, using his disruptive build to give blockers fits.

Benton can stand to improve his pad level and alignment, and while he can play the nose position on occasion, he likely fits best as a one-gapping lineman from 1-tech to 3-tech in the NFL. But within that window, Benton has the tools to stack and shed and hold the line in run defense, as well as attack gaps and demolish protections in the passing game.

As either a 4-3 defensive tackle or a hybrid odd-front lineman with versatility on the interior, Benton has the upside to be an impact starter. He’s refined enough and talented enough to start early on, and as he continues to perfect his game, he can unlock the full capacity of his high-level destructive potential against both the run and the pass.

NFL.com

Full report HERE

Overview

Benton is a powerful interior defensive lineman with size and persistence. However, he needs to play with consistent explosiveness early in the rep for decisive wins at the point of attack at the pro level. Block engagements become drawn-out brawls at times, but he does a nice job of defeating block sustains and often finds himself near the play. He lacks a wide base and sturdy anchor, so he’ll need to improve his pad level to prevent double teams from moving him around too easily. He’s solid and has flashed starting potential, but he needs to become a more consistently impactful force in the middle to make noise as an NFL starter.

Strengths

• Full-time starter for most of four seasons.
• Stout frame with proportional thickness and excellent length.
• Brute force to toss angle blocks out of the way.
• Able to shake center’s pads with his initial punch.
• Very challenging to knock him off his feet.
• Battles through initial adversity and fights back into the play.
• Clubbing, heavy hands help knock pass sets off-balance.

Weaknesses

• Below average snap quickness into neutral zone.
• Lacks hip flexion for desired base width inside.
• Slow to read and move with blocker’s initial reach steps.
• Gets pushed off of his grass when pad level gets away from him.
• Inconsistent corkscrewing his post leg to take on double teams.
• Very limited tackle window and will primarily be an A-gap finisher.
• Slow-moving train once inside pocket as a rusher.

Bleacher Report

Full report HERE

OVERALL

Keeanu Benton will be a good case study for how much weight to place on the Senior Bowl for NFL Draft prospects. In Mobile, he dominated as a pass-rusher with a lethal club-by move that he only showed flashes of at Wisconsin. He was also playing a lot more as a 3-technique than he did as a Badger, so his role could be expanded at the next level as well.

The latter makes his scheme fit a little difficult to pin down. On film, Benton looks more like a nose tackle or 2-technique defensive tackle, however, that might be more indicative of the system at Wisconsin than his true skill set. In other words, he might have some untapped potential and could be more versatile than what he showed in college.

So there are some of the draft profiles for Keeanu Benton last year ahead of the 2023 NFL draft. Now with a season under his belt, how accurate do you think these profiles were? Is Benton living up to what he was believed to be ahead of a draft? Is he more than what was expected? Please make sure to leave your thoughts in the comments below.