The Pittsburgh Steelers were quite excited to land Wisconsin product Keeanu Benton in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, adding a versatile, powerful defensive lineman with a high ceiling to a group with some high-profile veterans like Cameron Heyward and Larry Ogunjobi.
Though Benton wasn’t expected to have a huge role as a rookie this season, injuries forced him onto the field. Benton played 483 snaps in his rookie season, grading out at 74.8 overall from Pro Football Focus.
In his rookie season, Benton consistently found himself among the highest-graded rookies in the NFL from the advanced analytics website before ultimately falling off late in the season.