Yahya Black was compared to the “Big Chassis” of a Ford F-350 last year by then head coach Mike Tomlin. Now, Pittsburgh may take full advantage of his unnatural size.
According to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac, the Steelers may use him a bit differently in Year 2.
“Black will be more of the nose,” Dulac wrote in his weekly Steelers chat. “When they play the 3-4 front, which typically hasn’t been much.”
The nose tackle position has been fading in importance during the past decade, yet it was a constant talking point when assistant coaches were made available to the media during OTAs. DL coach Domata Peko said Black could be one of the best nose tackles in the league. Even secondary coach Jason Simmons, who played with Joel Steed and Casey Hampton in Pittsburgh, emphasized the nose tackle position.
Pittsburgh played in its base defense 39.1 percent of the time last season, a large increase from 26.7 percent in 2024. Not all of their base defense formations feature a true nose, but it’s a worthwhile trend to consider as teams put their big men on the field to counter a league-wide shift back to running the football and blocking tight ends.
Keeanu Benton led the team in true nose tackle reps last season with 234. Black was second with 77. Already the team has talked about moving Benton around more while the chatter on Black has been a bigger presence in the middle. It only makes sense with his 336-pound frame to take advantage of his two-gap potential.
When Black was drafted, DL coach Karl Dunbar was adamant that they viewed him as a 4i-tech defensive end capable of moving inside. Perhaps now his primary focus will be in the middle with the versatility to move outside at times. He flashed his capabilities at nose last year the few times Pittsburgh put him there.
Here’s an example from Week 17, taking on two blocks and still managing to work his way through for a partial credit on the tackle.
If Black swaps places with Benton in terms of their nose tackle usage, and the overall personnel grouping gets used more, Black could be looking at roughly 300 nose tackle snap (17.6 per game). What could that do for the defense to finally have an effective space eater in the middle?
Recommended for you