What To Expect from the Steelers Defensive Line after This Year

Although they get little to no credit from people outside of the organization, the defensive line of the Steelers is one of the best in the league.

Based in a three-four alignment, the job of the defensive line is not that of the four-three. In the three-four, the defensive line's job is to tie up offensive linemen so the linebackers can make the plays.

Luckily for Pittsburgh, our linebackers are one of the finest bunch in the league.

Let's check out the defensive line:

Starters

Nose Tackle—Casey Hampton.

Big Snack, as he is called, is the anchor of the defensive line. At 6'1" and a reported 325 pounds, Hampton is one of the best three-four nose guards in the NFL. 

Hampton came to the Steelers as the 19th pick in the first round of the 2001 draft.  He has been the starter for every game he has been healthy since.

The biggest issue with Hampton is that he is entering the last year of his contract.  At 31 years of age, are the Steelers going to spend the kind of money they need to in order to keep Hampton with the team?

Left Defensive End—Aaron Smith

Smith took a different path to success than Hampton.  Smith was also drafted by the Steelers in 1998. Unlike Hampton, however, Smith was not an immediate starter. He worked his way into the line.

Unlike the defensive ends in a four-three, Smith has a hard time rounding up the numbers for Pro Bowl honors.  Smith has only been selected to one Pro Bowl, after the 2004 season.

Aaron Smith is entering the second year of a five-year deal signed in 2007 for $25 million.

Like Hampton, Smith is getting long in the tooth.  Smith recently turned 33.

Right Defensive End—Brett Keisel

Keisel came to the Steelers in the seventh round of the 2002 draft. Unlike Smith and Hampton, Keisel was a project player.

In his first two years, Keisel made the team by his play on special teams.  It wasn't until 2006 before he cracked the starting line-up.

In the last two years, Keisel has done an above average job for the Steelers.  Again, not making the plays, but tying up the blockers so the linebackers can get to the play makers.

Keisel is entering his last year on his contract.  He will be 31 years old shortly after the season starts.

Having drafted his believed replacement Evander Hood, this is probably his last year with the team.

Back-Ups

Nose Tackle—Chris Hoke

Similar to Brett Keisel, Chris Hoak was an undrafted free agent from the 2001 draft class. He spent the first three years of his career bouncing between the practice squad and off the team.

Hoke earned his uniform in 2004, when Casey Hampton was injured for six games. He has since been a reliable back-up to Hampton.

Hoak is also 33-years-old, and nearing the end of his career. He may be kept around for a couple more years due to having not played so much earlier, he does not have the injury history most 33-year-olds have.

Defensive End—Evander "Ziggy" Hood

With the last pick of the first round in the 2008 draft, the Steelers selected Ziggy Hood. 

Even though he played defensive tackle in a four-three in college, Hood is transitioning to an end in the three-four.

In mini-camps, Aaron Smith has taken Ziggy under his wings, to show him the ins and outs of playing the position for the Steelers.

Defensive End—Travis Kirchke

Kirchke joined the Steelers in 2004 as an unrestricted free agent from the San Francisco 49ers.

Kirchke immediately made an impact on special teams. In 2005, Kirchke made his way into the defensive line rotation, and has been a solid contributor in both runs to championships.

Who?

The following is a list of defensive linemen on the Steelers roster that you might not know about.

Nick Eason, DE 

Signed from the Browns following the 2006 season. Eason plays spot duty for the Steelers, normally when someone is injured. Eason is 29 years old.

Ra'Shon Harris, DE 

"Sonny" Harris was drafted by the Steelers in the sixth round of the 2009 draft.

From Oregon, Harris, like Hood, is switching from defensive tackle to defensive end. Harris has decent speed for an end, but will have to learn the system, and that may take a year.

Steve McLendon, DT 

McLendon is another rookie free agent. Lettering for all four years at Troy, McLendon is going to have to put on some weight if he is going to stick around for more than a year on the practice squad.

Scott Paxson, NT 

Paxon was an undrafted free agent in 2006. Paxson spent time last year on the practice squads of the Steelers and Green Bay Packers. Paxson resigned with the Steelers in January.

Jordan Reffett, Defensive Lineman 

Reffett signed with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent this year. He was team captain at the University of Washington, and won the Flaherty Award, which is given to the most inspirational player. He won that award twice.

The reason he is noted as a defensive lineman is because the Steelers have yet to give him a designation on position, which means they are still deciding which position he is best suited for.

The Outlook

It is obvious that the average age of the starters is on the wrong side of 30. If the Steelers can re-sign Hampton, and combined with Aaron Smith, they still have a couple years left in the tank, giving the young players the experience and chance to grow. Perhaps, they will some day be able to take over.

Ziggy Hood will be replacing Brett Keisel after this year. Sonny Harris has two to three years before he is asked to step in for Aaron Smith.

Casey Hampton and Chris Hoke are both nearing the end of the line, but after two seasons, some of the rookies that have been brought in, need to step up and become contributors.

The immediate concern of the teams age is depth, because the depth is getting old as well.

The infusion of youth is not ready to step in and be major contributor.  If the "old men" can hang on for a couple more years, this unit will probably not miss a beat.