DeMarvin Leal using versatility to take on larger role on Steelers defense

The training camp roster still lists DeMarvin Leal as weighing 290 pounds, although it’s clear he is much leaner than in his first two seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The roster also lists his position as defensive end, although that isn’t entirely accurate, either.

Leal continues to play the position that earned him a selection by the Steelers in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. It’s just that he can be found elsewhere on the field during practices at Saint Vincent College.

Sometimes he is lining up at outside linebacker, a role Leal occasionally filled out of necessity in 2022 when T.J. Watt was injured.

Sometimes he is lined up on the kickoff coverage team as the Steelers experiment with ways to take advantage of the new kickoff rules.

Anything to help Leal not merely earn a spot on the 53-man roster but also be a productive player in his third NFL season.

“It’s being able to show I can play inside and outside, rush inside and out,” Leal said Sunday. “It’s going to make them have to put me somewhere.”

Anywhere but the inactives list, which is where Leal could be found late in the 2023 season. Leal lost his game-day roster spot to Isaiahh Loudermilk and did not get a helmet for four of the final five regular-season games. He also was inactive for the wild-card playoff loss at Buffalo.

“I think ‘Marv’ is coming along, starting to play a little better,” defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. “We know he’s had a little ups and downs, but we know he’s a good guy, and he has worked his tail off this offseason. I like where we are right now.”

Leal attributed his benching last year to the coaching staff wanting to use other players better equipped at stopping the run. But instead of adding weight so he could have the measurements of a defensive tackle, Leal went the other direction.

“It was just fixing my eating habits and working out more throughout the week,” said Leal, who did not divulge his weight.

And so it is that Leal appears to be more of a leaner version of Alex Highsmith than a beefier version of Cameron Heyward.

That has allowed Leal to get practice reps at outside linebacker. Until the Steelers added veteran Markus Golden late last week, the most experienced backup was Nick Herbig, who is entering his second year. Injuries also played a factor in Leal getting snaps at linebacker.

“A couple guys went down, and I can play inside and out, and that’s how it worked out for me,” he said.

In his rookie season, Leal played 69 snaps between the left and right outside linebacker spot, and he helped ease the seven-game loss of Watt to a pectoral injury. In 2023, though, Leal’s snap count at outside linebacker dipped to 15.

This summer, Leal also has gotten on-the-job training on Danny Smith’s kickoff units. The new rules require the coverage and return units to line up within 10 yards of each other.

“We’ve taken the distance out of it, we’ve taken the speed out of it,” Smith said. “It’s a very short range. I mean, who’s going to block him? If DeMarvin Leal gets in there and does what I ask him to do, who’s going to block that big man?”

The Steelers had high hopes for Leal when they selected him with the No. 84 overall pick in 2023 out of Texas A&M. Leal was 21 when he was drafted and had three seasons of college experience.

Leal turned 24 in July. He is actually younger than rookie defensive end Logan Lee and just three months older than first-round draft pick Troy Fautanu.

Perhaps expectations were too high for Leal when he joined the Steelers.

“I don’t know that work ethic and conditioning have ever been an issue for him,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “It’s developing skill and maturity. Remember, he was a young guy when we drafted him. He’s gotten continually better, and there’s reason for us to expect that to continue.”

For his part, Leal doesn’t view this training camp as a make-or-break situation for his career with the Steelers.

“It’s now for me,” he said. “I wouldn’t say now or never. It’s now.”