Steelers sign third round draft pick DeMarvin Leal

The Pittsburgh Steelers announced the signing of the fifth of their seven 2022 NFL draft picks on Friday. The latest draftee to sign for the Steelers is third-round draft pick DeMarvin Leal out of Texas A&M.

The 84th overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft, Leal played three seasons for Texas A&M and appeared in 33 games. Over that time he had 133 tackles, 25 of which were for loss, 13 sacks, one interception, five passes defensed, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery.

A projected first-round draft pick early in the 2022 draft process, Leal fell to the Steelers in Day 2 of the draft. At 6‘4“ and 290 pounds, Leal has been prepared to bulk up to play on the Steelers defensive line but was not instructed to do so by head coach Mike Tomlin.

“He’s speculating if he thinks we want him to put on weight,” Coach Tomlin stated about Leal following the Saturday session of rookie minicamp last weekend. “We’re just here getting to know him and his body and how it works. Oftentimes in draft preparation, guys hear things from NFL people, and they try to do what they think we want. The reality is that we’re trying to get to know the athlete, the pedigree of the athlete and how his body works, what’s the optimal condition for him to be in, etc. And so, it would be much too premature to talk about desired weights and so forth with any of these guys, because we’re just getting to know them.”

Leal joins second-round pick George Pickens as well as sixth-round draft pick Connor Heyward and both seventh-round draft picks Mark Robinson and Chris Oladokun as members of the 2022 NFL draft class the Steelers have under contract. The only two players remaining at this time are first-round draft pick Kenny Pickett and fourth-round selection Calvin Austin III.

According to overthecap.com, Leal’s salary cap hit for 2022 is estimated at $985,267 based on the rookie wage scale.

Stay tuned to Behind The Steel Curtain for continued coverage as the Steelers begin Phase 2 of OTAs next week.