When the Pittsburgh Steelers take the field for their preseason opener on Friday night versus the Houston Texans, defensive end DeMarvin Leal will be trying his hand at a different position.
According to Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Leal was getting a look at outside linebacker during Thursday's walkthrough, and the plan is for him to get snaps there on Friday night, defensive line coach Karl Dunbar confirmed.
“He’s always been an athletic guy. He’s more attentive in the meetings,” Dunbar said of Leal. “You see him out here, he’s learned both of them — defensive end position and outside linebacker position. You can see the productivity on the field is starting to show up.”
It remains to be seen if this is the long-term plan for Leal or if this is simply because of the numbers game. The Steelers will be short at the position with T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith not playing, and Markus Golden is a question mark.
A third-round pick of the Steelers in 2022, Leal has not panned out how the Steelers hoped he would over two seasons. But the hope is that he can turn the corner in 2024 — and so far he's off to a good start after putting together a strong camp.
“It’s now for me,” Leal said earlier in training camp. “I wouldn’t say now or never for the season, but it’s now for me.”
Being able to play outside linebacker in certain packages will only help Leal see the field more, assuming that isn't the only place the Steelers plan on deploying him moving forward.
