How Steelers' Assistant GM Andy Weidl Found Keeanu Benton and Nick Herbig

A rare lose-win for the Pittsburgh Steelers new defenders.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers landed two Wisconsin products during the 2023 NFL Draft, but how they put them on their radar isn't your typical prospect story. 

The addition of Andy Weidl as assistant general manager has paid dividends for the Steelers. So far, he's helped them lock up two former Philadelphia Eagles offensive linemen, put an emphasis on the trenches for both sides of the ball, and even put their eyes onto two of their seven draft picks. 

When Weidl first watched Steelers' second-round pick Keeanu Benton and fourth-round pick Nick Herbig, it was during their matchup with Ohio State. It was an opportunity for Pittsburgh's assistant GM to get a look at a few defensive products out of a school the team likes to draft from, against NFL-caliber talent. 

Unfortunately, it was as brutal of a game as they come for the Badgers. 

"It wasn't a great night for their team," Weidl laughed. 

Ohio State won the Big 10 matchup 52-21. 

Fortunately, Weidl wasn't there for scoreboards, but rather to watch two players he had his eye on during the draft process. 

"I got there early, and I was there for the pre-warmups about three hours before the game," Weidl explained. "And Chris Herring, who coached my brothers at Mount Lebanon High School, he coached all three of them. I’ve known him a long time and have a really good relationship with him. He was a special teams coach. Got to catch up with Chris before the game and get insight on Keeanu and then through the process, once Nick declared, talked to him about Nick Herbig.

"... Then just to see them physically move around, the body type, the agility, the athleticism they had. It wasn't a great night for their team, but you're there to watch the players and watch them perform and watch them move around and how they handle themselves and the warmups and just get some information from the coach before the game if you are able to."

Benton finished with five tackles. Herbig finished with three and a pass deflection. But as rough of an afternoon as it was for Wisconsin, it was the beginning of a relationship Pittsburgh would form with the two NFL Draft prospects. 

"We watched Keeanu. We saw him through the season, saw him perform at nose tackle and the ability to win an edge. The ability to make negative plays, the ability to strike, unlock his hips," Weidl said. "He is a powerful guy. He could be a 318, 320-pound guy. He has good length. He has the wrestling background. He is a guy that's comfortable being uncomfortable due to the conditioning that's instilled in him."

From the Ohio State game, the Steelers continued scouting Benton. They ran into him again at the Senior Bowl, where head coach Mike Tomlin, general manager Omar Khan and Weidl were all present. 

"Then we saw him at the Senior Bowl, and we saw the pass rush ability," Weidl said. "Him being able to go from the B gap to the A gap and win an edge and get across the face. We think that he has upside as a rusher. I think what they asked him to do in that defense, he did it. He controlled the nose. He played the point. And if you need him to win as a rusher, he would. You saw snapshots of it, and we saw it at the Senior Bowl."

Coming full circle, both Herbig and Benton are in Pittsburgh. Maybe that tells a story of how wins and losses don't matter as long as you play hard. Maybe it says Weidl only sees what matters as an NFL scout. 

Maybe, it's just a (possibly) rare story of how two Wisconsin products got blown out by Ohio State and seven months later ended up in the NFL. Either way, the Steelers are thrilled it all worked out the way it did, because win or lose Ohio Stadium, Benton and Herbig ended up in Pittsburgh. 

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