McCullers vs. Hargrave at NT should be interesting for Steelers

[hawaiiansteeler]

McCullers vs. Hargrave at NT should be interesting for Steelers

ByAndrew Watkins
Posted on May 15, 2016

The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t lose any truly marquee free agents this offseason, but they did part with some valuable contributors that’ll need replacing. Alejandro Villanueva and Ryan Harris will compete to man Kelvin Beachum’s vacated left tackle spot. Ross Cockrell, Senquez Golsen and Artie Burns will all jockey to replace the, mercifully, departed Antwon Blake.

Another position that will be manned by, well, a new man in 2016 is that of nose tackle. Steve McLendon, who you’ll recall once replaced Casey Hampton, inked a deal with the New York Jets after three seasons anchoring Pittsburgh’s interior. Fans often lobbied for McLendon to be replaced simply because he wasn’t Hampton. That said, it’s important to note that McLendon was a key part of three top-12 run defenses.

All the same, McLendon played in just 34 percent of the Steelers’ defensive snaps. Allocating $3.5 million annually, as the Jets did, to a guy who plays one of every three snaps simply didn’t seem a wise investment for the often cash-strapped Steelers. While Pittsburgh spends a lot of time playing out of six-man fronts with five defensive backs, it’ll need someone to step up for McLendon when it wants to play big up front.

That battle to determine who will start at NT should come down to a third-year pro in Daniel McCullers and a newbie on Pittsburgh’s roster in Javon Hargrave.

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[Dwinsgames]

will be interesting to see how McCullers looks this year , a tiny part of the post pick of Hargrave Mitchell mentions how we are going to see a completely different player in McCullers this year ...

has me wondering what has transpired

at 5:20 in http://www.steelers.com/videos/videos/John-Mitchell-on-DT-Javon-Hargrave/2c88cbd3-cae4-409b-a64a-f87b14cc73ef

[pczach]

For all we know, McCullers and Hargrave could both be on the field at the same time as 4-3 DT with four down linemen from time to time. I think the defense is going to be giving offenses a lot of different looks this coming year. Hargrave gives the ability to have a guy play multiple positions along the line and in multiple defensive sets.

I look forward to seeing if McCullers has improved as much as Mitchell has hinted at. We will see. The increase in snaps can only help that development along if he has the talent and mindset to play in the NFL at a high level. If he does, the front seven will be better and more versatile this year, and Hargrave will be able to also keep Heyward and Tuitt fresh by taking snaps at DE as well as NT and DT.

[Born2Steel]

For all we know, McCullers and Hargrave could both be on the field at the same time as 4-3 DT with four down linemen from time to time. I think the defense is going to be giving offenses a lot of different looks this coming year. Hargrave gives the ability to have a guy play multiple positions along the line and in multiple defensive sets.

I look forward to seeing if McCullers has improved as much as Mitchell has hinted at. We will see. The increase in snaps can only help that development along if he has the talent and mindset to play in the NFL at a high level. If he does, the front seven will be better and more versatile this year, and Hargrave will be able to also keep Heyward and Tuitt fresh by taking snaps at DE as well as NT and DT.

I feel the same for this coming season. Our defense has got to evolve some from the expected, and the first step would be more of the 4-3 base. If BigMac can clog the middle and take up blockers, and allow Tuitt, Heyward, and Hargrave to beat one on one blocks, I see great things on the way. This helps the secondary with less to cover due to more kept in to block. Of course we have ILBs that can get in there a little too.

[Rotorhead]

I doubt we are going to a 4-3 base, if anything we will have a 2-4 base. I hope McCullers can clog the middle in obvious running situations (goal-line comes to mind) when needed. I am also hoping we can work in a rotation between the 4 guys to keep Heyward and Tuit rested. All I really know, is there can not be the enormous drop off when Heyward and Tuitt need a breather like against the Broncos. Otherwise the teams will just go no-huddle like Manning did on that last drive (why didnt we call TO!) and we get stuck with terrible DL play. I am hoping Hargrave and McCullers can hold up better than Cam Thomas and McClendon did.