As much of the attention and concern centered on rookie first-round pick Derrick Harmon Thursday night after he was carted off to the locker room with a towel draped over his head and visibly emotional, fellow rookie defensive lineman Yahya Black broke out in a big way on the field.
Fortunately, the Harmon news after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ preseason finale was about as positive as it could get, so there was some relief. But the performance from Black, a fifth-round pick out of Iowa, made it all the more encouraging.
On the field for 19 defensive snaps Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers, Black had his best game yet, recording two sacks, showing off his impressive power, and even adding a hilarious sack dance to his repertoire. He saw some time at nose tackle and for a stretch in the second half took over the game.
Against Carolina, Black finished with five tackles, two tackles for loss and two sacks. He hustled to the football, used his power to his advantage and really opened some eyes.
Let’s dive into the film room.
While he made his presence felt as a pass rusher on Thursday night, Black was equally as good as a run defender.
With his size and length, he can dominate at the point of attack. I love seeing him as the cocked NT here, harkening back to the Joe Greene days.
After the snap, gets his hands inside on the center and takes on the double team with ease. The Panthers don’t move him an inch. In the process, Black is able to gain control at the point of attack and two-gap this. Watch the way his head darts side to side, peeking into the backfield to find the football.
Once he has his target acquired, he’s able to shed the block. Though he doesn’t make the tackle here, it’s an impressive run rep nonetheless.
Similar rep here from Black, this time in the red zone. The guard and center try to land a combination block, but Black isn’t moved whatsoever.
Coming from that cocked nose position, Black is able to split the combo block, all while gaining control of the center’s chest. Once he does that, he’s able to lock out and keep his eyes in the backfield to find the football. From there, he sheds and makes the tackle for the 1-yard loss.
The very next play, he does it again.
You just simply aren’t moving Black off the spot. He anchors very well, and he uses his hands nicely, getting them into the chest quickly when firing off the football. With his length and his power, once he gets his hands on you, he’s in control.
Once again, he’s able to lock out the center, keep his eye in the backfield and find the football, ducking his head back inside to help stuff the run.
Look at the power here from Black, too.
He throws a powerful punch and can easily shrug and lock out blockers, much like he does here against the Panthers’ guard. By doing that, he’s able to control the point of attack, get his head across into the lane and help stop the run.
His run defense is what he was drafted for, so it’s encouraging to see it showing up like this.
But the most impressive thing from Black Thursday night was his pass-rush abilities.
Early on, Black flashed his ability to convert speed to power on the inside, tapping into his bull rush to walk the center backwards.
He gets some help here from fellow rookie Jack Sawyer, looping in on the stunt and connecting with the center. But Black had his guy on skates early. Second week in a row one of the rookies has showed off a great bull rush to win and create pressure.
Then, in the third quarter Black turned up the heat big time.
That’s one heck of a push-pull from Black on the center. His power jumps off the screen. He’s just rag-dolling this center around before landing the pull, hitting the quick swim move to win cleanly and burst home for the sack. A man as big as Black shouldn’t move all that well, but he is so fluid and has some real explosion to his game.
If he can do this from the nose tackle position in limited reps as a rookie, look out.
Just for good measure, he showed the ability to rush the passer from the traditional 4i in the Steelers’ defense, too.
Good get-off here from Black to get upfield and put his head inside on the rush.
He’s able to generate some push there, weakening the inside shoulder of the tackle, giving him a lane inside to pressure the quarterback. You’d like to see him finish this rep cleaner and get the quarterback on the ground, but he was ultimately credited with the sack, giving him two on the night.
Black has flashed the ability to play over the nose, and at defensive end throughout training camp and the preseason. Thursday night’s performance in the preseason finale was extremely encouraging from the fifth-round pick. Though it came against backups, Black showed a lot of what you look for at the position, and hopefully that earns him some snaps as a rotational piece early in the season.
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