Steelers Now
PITTSBURGH — Rookie defensive tackle Yahya Black played in 24 snaps for the Pittsburgh Steelers in his NFL debut in Week 1, and it sounds like a bigger role could be in the cards for Week 2.
Black, the Steelers’ fifth-round pick out of Iowa, started the season as a second-team defensive end in the base 3-4 Pittsburgh defense. Black had just two tackles but generally impressed in his first pro action — enough that Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said that we might see more of Black in Week 2.
**“**Yeah, he may play a little bit more than that,” Austin said on Thursday. “I think that we’ve seen really good progress from him, and I think as the season goes by, he’ll continue to get better and grow. We’ll find a place for him because he can do a nice job in there, and just like a lot of young guys, you don’t want to overload him early and have him fail. You want to get him to have some success and then grow him from there.”
Black has played the defensive end position in the base defense and the defensive tackle position in the team’s more-common sub packages. Many have suggested that the 336-pound Black could also play nose tackle for the Steelers, where started Keeanu Benton struggled against the Jets in Week 1.
But don’t expect to see Black out there in that role just yet.
“Not yet,” Austin said. “I think he’s capable of doing both, but I think right now early, we’ve had him at the 4 [technique], opposite of Cam [Heyward] out there because a lot of times that stuff in there at the nose happens really fast in terms of the different types of blocking schemes, what kind of center you’re dealing with, all the pinpoint stuff that happens. But he’s working, and I would be willing to bet he’ll be one of those guys that has flexibility to play up and down the line when it’s all said and done.”
Instead, it may be more likely that Black takes some snaps away from Isaiahh Loudermilk, who started at defensive end against the Jets in place of injured first-round draft pick Derrick Harmon, but also struggled against the run, where Black’s specialty lies. Loudermilk played 31 snaps against the Jets, and did not record a tackle.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Promise More of Yahya Black in Week 2
