Leterrius Walton to Pittsburgh: Full Draft-Pick Breakdown

It was just a matter of time before the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted a defensive lineman. It seems that every draft, Pittsburgh brings in at least one player to groom for diverse roles in that 3-4 defensive front. This time around, it is Central Michigan defensive tackle Leterrius Walton who caught the eye of the Steelers front office in the sixth round.

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With the 199th overall selection in the 2015 #NFLDraft we have selected Leterrius Walton, DE, CMU. #SteelersDraft pic.twitter.com/GZmkWDgTdR

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) May 2, 2015"

Walton is the type of player the Pittsburgh coaching staff loves to bring into the fold. When you run a base 3-4 defense, a lot is asked of the defensive line. These are massive men who are asked to move from defensive end to defensive tackle, stuff the run or rush the passer and often do all of the dirty work that doesn’t always show up in the box score.

Let’s take a closer look at Walton by the numbers, per NFL.com:

Height: 6’5”

Weight: 319 pounds

40-Yard Dash: 5.25 seconds

Bench Press: 25 reps

Career Tackles for Loss: 18.5

Career Sacks: 6.0

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Some of the numbers on Leterrius (LT) Walton. #SteelersDraft pic.twitter.com/5qsBHK6oGF

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) May 2, 2015"

Walton is a defensive lineman who shows gobs of upside. During his career at Central Michigan, he improved year after year and went from relative obscurity to start his college career to an underrated and promising prospect. 

The big upside to Walton’s game is how he is able to utilize his size to his benefit. Walton is tall at 6’5” and powerfully built at 319 pounds, but he doesn’t have elite length, which some teams look at negatively. For the Steelers, this is less important because kicked inside, Walton can utilize a quick first step and those violent hands to work over offensive linemen.

Walton is a classic penetrator. He’s not going to overpower players due to a lack of lower-body strength, but he can win at the snap, and with his relentless motor, he runs clear through the whistle. Not to mention, the Steelers have had good luck with sixth-round picks from Central Michigan in the past.

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Steelers take DT Leterrius Walton. Last time they took a Central Michigan product in the 6th round, they got an All Pro... #AB

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) May 2, 2015"

The Steelers have had decent luck with bringing in these late-round defensive linemen and grooming them to fit their scheme. Defensive end Brett Keisel is a former seventh-round pick with a scouting report very similar to Walton's coming out of college. Fortunately for Walton, there is no rush to push him into the lineup early.

As of right now, the Steelers have starters in place with defensive ends Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt and a rotation of defensive tackles in Steve McLendon, Cam Thomas and Daniel McCullers. In fact, most of these guys are interchangeable parts between inside and outside.

If Walton sticks with this team, his best bet is to lock into the practice squad as a rookie and work on that power in the lower body. If he can get a bit stronger, he will be in a position to anchor against the run and force blockers to account for him. This will allow those Pittsburgh linebackers to get clean runs at the football.

A pick like Walton tells me that defensive coordinator Keith Butler is fully committed to going with more hybrid 3-4/4-3 fronts. Walton as a more pure pass-rushing interior lineman looks to be a specialist and sub-package player.