DeMarvin Leal explains what ruined his 2023 season.

DeMarvin Leal explains what ruined his 2023 season.

After demonstrating promise in his rookie season, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end DeMarvin Leal took a step back and had a tumultuous 2023 season.

Almost all of Leal’s playing time occurred during the first third of the season. He did not play ten snaps in a game after Week 10. He didn’t dress for four of the team’s last five games. That’s not a good sign for a 2022 third-round pick with great hopes.

So, what factors contributed to Leal’s tough second season? According to an interview with Christopher Carter of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette during OTAs last week, he blames it on his poor conditioning and technique.

“Technique, basically improving my technique,” Leal said Carter. “I’m focusing on getting back in better shape than I was last year and making sure I’m technically sound. I believe that is the most significant outcome of this second year.

I believe that my downfall was due to technique. So I made sure I met with some defensive line coaches. We got together, made a plan, and went ahead with it.” Leal graduated from Texas A&M, standing 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighing 283 pounds.

He’s a traditional “tweener” in a 3-4 defensive scheme. In 2022, he played 1-4 snaps as an edge rusher, 20 snaps over the tackle as a 3-4 end, and 43 snaps as an interior defensive lineman, according to PFF’s chart.

Former Steelers outside linebacker Arthur Moats believes Leal has Stephon Tuitt-like attributes, but he needs to improve his basics. “He reminds me of Tuitt when I watch,” he stated on the Arthur Moats Experience With Deke podcast earlier this month. “And I adored Tuitt.

He already has everything he needs; all he needs to do is buckle down. I am hope that [2023] served as a wake-up call. “I felt that as much as he switched positions, his technique when he was supposed to return as an interior defensive lineman wasn’t as crisp and fundamentally solid.

You’ll see him penetrate at times and make a play, but when you’re trying to get back in and do what you need to do, That pad level and hand placement are not where they should be.”