The Pittsburgh Steelers added Derrick Harmon, Jack Sawyer and Yahya Black to their defensive line through the draft. They hoped the combination of those three would give them some much-needed depth. Unfortunately, Harmon has had to miss the last two weeks due to a knee injury. Although he may come back this week, that’s forced Black into quite a lot of action.
Black played 64 snaps against the Baltimore Ravens last Sunday, a large workload for a fifth-round rookie. But it’s an opportunity he’s taking advantage of, according to Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin.
“I thought he handled it well. He had one nice play, I think going into the red zone, where Derrick [Henry] looked like he was going to bounce it out, and he ran into Yahya, and Yahya was able to hold on and knock him down,” Austin said Thursday via a team-provided transcript. “He’s done some things like that. He’s a big, strong individual who I think is just getting better. Kind of just scratching the surface of the kind of player he’s going to be. I think he’s done a good job, and he’s deserved and earned the opportunity to play more.”
That large workload has given us some ups and downs with Yahya Black. Against Baltimore, there were several occasions in which he lost his anchor and allowed the offensive lineman to push him way off the line of scrimmage. He’s had some issues with gap integrity as well. Black is still getting a feel for the game at this level, and there are times that he tries to make a play to free up a linebacker to shoot a gap but ends up running himself into a double-team.
However, when a fifth-round pick is asked to play the most snaps of anybody on the defensive line, those are growing pains you’re just going to have to deal with. And while there were plays in which Black struggled, he flashed his potential as well. Against the run, he’s gotten better at standing linemen up and reading the play at it develops behind them. He does so in the first clip below. Black keeps the lineman at arm’s length, sheds the block well and makes a good tackle.
He’s learning how to throw his weight around rushing the passer as well. Black’s arsenal of pass-rush moves is still growing. But he was able to cause some havoc against the Ravens with a simple bull rush.
If you asked the Steelers before the season began, they probably wouldn’t have wanted Yahya Black to have to lead the defensive line in snaps in Week 14. But due to injuries, that’s where the Steelers are. And while he’s a work in progress, a natural phase given his draft status, he’s showing signs of what the Steelers saw back on draft day.
