Pittsburgh Steelers select Keeanu Benton in 2nd round of 2023 NFL Draft

With the Pittsburgh Steelers needing help along the defensive front, the organization turned to Wisconsin defensive tackle Keeanu Benton, drafting him in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Benton earned All-Big Ten honors in each of the last two seasons for his play along the defensive line.

A four-year player for the Badgers, Benton didn’t really get going until his junior year in 2021. In four seasons he recorded 80 tackles, 19.0 tackles for a loss, 9.0 sacks, two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble and four passes defended.

He was named a second-team All-Big Ten selection by the league’s coaches in 2021, then was named a third-team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches in 2022.

As a recruit in the 2019 class, Benton was not a highly sought after prospect. He was ranked as a three-star player, the No. 1,225 overall player in the nation in his class, according to the On3 Industry Rankings.

Benton was ranked as the No. 124 defensive lineman in his cycle, as well as the No. 5 overall player in the state of Wisconsin, hailing from Janesville (Wisc.) Craig.

What NFL Draft analysts are saying about Keeanu Benton

After putting together his best season yet as a senior in 2022, Benton drew the eye of NFL scouts for what he could do on the interior of the defensive line.

Benton put together a nice performance at the NFL Combine, as well.

Writes NFL Draft analyst Lance Zierlein in evaluating Benton:

“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.”

Among his strengths are that he’s battle tested, he has a stout frame with excellent length and he’s very difficult to knock off his feet.

Some of the weaknesses, though, are his below average jump off the snap, occasionally suspect pad level and the projection that he’ll primarily be effective only in the A gap.