Wisconsin LB Leo Chanel Using Advice From T.J. Watt During Steelers Meeting
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Pittsburgh Steelers formally met with Wisconsin star inside linebacker Leo Chanel at the 2022 NFL combine.
After allowing the most rushing yards in franchise history during the 2021 NFL season, it's clear that Pittsburgh is prioritizing their front seven this offseason. Chenal is a physical inside linebacker prospect who does most of his best work when playing downhill.
"It was good meeting with them," Chenal said. "A lot of cool dudes in that room. I respect them a lot." He added that he "met with the whole front office, the head coach and guys like that."
As an inside linebacker, playing for the Steelers is often a dream come true for players given their rich history of great players at the position.
"It would mean a lot just like any other organization," Chenal said. 'The Steelers have a big defensive mindset and I love that. They've produced a lot of defensive players of the year. It would cool to just be able to follow in their footsteps and to just look up to guys like that."
There is common misconception among football minds about Chenal and him being a "throwback linebacker" which is really not the case. He's a player that excels when working downhill against the run and blitzing the quarterback but is also more athletic than given credit for and respectable in coverage.
He agreed with my assessment about that and joking said "I appreciate you."
"People can watch film and it's an objective thing," Chanel added. "I can't sit here and say oh no, you can't think that because it is on film. But it's definitely an opinion and you have to respect their opinion but I'm gonna continue to do the best and improve. Some of the things that they say are right and you definitely just have tor realize where your weaknesses are and to be able to improve. So I'm definitely just working on things like that."
Chenal was often times tasked with blitzing on passing downs and had a lot of success doing so, piling up seven sacks in his final season in Madison. Given that he wasn't primarily asked to do a ton in coverage, I wanted to gauge his level of comfortability in that area.
"Oh yeah, I definitely feel comfortable," Chenal said. "But at the same time, I can get so much better. Not just in pass coverage but in every aspect of my game. That's the most exciting part. I'm just ready to craft and get better in every single part of my game."
The Wisconsin program is familiar territory for the Steelers scouting department. In recent years under Kevin Colbert, the team has drafted T.J. Watt and Isaiahh Loudermilk, while also acquiring Joe Schobert via trade.
Chenal said he has talked to Watt during the process, but nothing too much.
"Just little questions for advice and he's a guy that's super helpful, wanting to help the next generation," Chenal said. "Isaiahh is a guy I played with in Madison. He's a funny dude, he's kind of like me, sort of quiet but he's a funny dude."
The Steelers are doing unsurprisingly doing extensive work on this deep inside linebacker class and rightfully so, after their linebackers struggled a lot last season in both phases. There a ton of talented guys in the class but few, if any, fit what the Steelers need better than Chenal.
If you're looking for a guy that can come in and transform your front seven and more importantly, the run defense, Chenal is the guy. A phenomenal player against the run who really excels at taking blockers on at the point of attack.
He's a phenomenal blitzer up the middle who's a handful to stay engaged with at the point of attack. If you want evidence of his strength, quickness and block shedding ability, ask Tyler Linderbaum who's considered to be one of the safest prospects in the class but really struggled to contain Chenal in their matchup last season.
While he wasn't asked to do it frequently, Chenal showed some promise in coverage in the games that I watched, too. He's got good awareness in zone drops and displays a basic understanding of route concepts. There were even a couple of instances where he was asked to carry the number three receiver in the slot vertically up the seam.
There will be struggles early on but there's enough athleticism and flashes to bet on him as a player.
With Schobert carrying a large cap hit into this season and Devin Bush taking a step backwards in his return from the ACL injury in 2020, the Steelers linebacking core could use an infusion of talent.
Every year after the pre-draft process is concluded, there are about a dozen players that you have a good feeling about in terms of potentially being drafted to Pittsburgh. Chenal is a glove-like fit and a guy that just looks like a Steeler.
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