The Pittsburgh Steelers signed free-agent defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi to help along the defensive line.

Now they just have to figure out the best way to use him.

In the base defense, anyway.

One thing is clear. In the sub package, they want him to push the pocket. Get after the passer. Occupy blockers and generally make life a mess for opposing offensive linemen.

Those are traits he has shown he’s capable of doing during his time in the AFC North playing against the Steelers with the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns. He had a career-high seven sacks last year in Cincy before a foot injury cut his season short during the team’s first playoff game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

But in the base defense, the Steelers are going to use training camp to figure out if Ogunjobi is more of a fit as the nose tackle or as the other defensive end opposite Cameron Heyward.

“I don’t have a preference, really,” Ogunjobi said Tuesday as the team reported to Saint Vincent College for training camp. “I mean, I want to play that ‘four’ (four-technique/end position). But whatever the team needs me to do, I’m here to do. Because, at the end of the day, we are here to make ball players. And I feel like you can affect the quarterback; you can affect the game at any position if you play it right.”

At 6-foot-3 and 305 pounds, Ogunjobi is listed at exactly the same weight and is an inch taller than former Steelers nose tackle Javon Hargrave. Meanwhile, current defensive lineman Tyson Alualu is listed at the same height and just one pound lighter. And Alualu has proven very capable of handling both the nose and the end position in the Steelers base.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Ogunjobi doesn’t need to be pinned to either job.

“I like him in both spots,” Tomlin said. “But what we are talking about is 18% of our snaps. In today’s NFL, you spend so much time in the sub-package ball, that we haven’t wasted a lot of time talking about the base component because so little time is spent there. But there aren’t any reservations in terms of his skillset that would limit him in terms of playing either position.”

That said, the Steelers do need to win more downs in the base 3-4 this year. With Alualu and the now retired Stephon Tuitt unavailable during games for most of last season, the Steelers rush defense suffered. It finished last in the NFL, allowing 146.1 yards per game on the ground. So whoever plays in each spot along the defensive front needs to be better in their given role.

According to Heyward, even with Ogunjobi and Alualu in the fold, replacing Tuitt is going to be hard.

“How do you offset his departure? That dude was a monster,” Heyward said Monday. “Tuitt is my guy. We are never looking to replace him. But we are looking to replace what he brought to the team, what he did on the field. We always called him ‘The Mustang’ because he was always revving around and always making big plays.”

Ogunjobi understands that whatever snaps he absorbs from Tuitt’s old job will be important to replicate.

“He played the game fast and physical,” Ogunjobi said of Tuitt. “He was always around the ball. He was always finding ways to make plays. That fits my nature as well. Being able to get upfield, make plays, disrupt the quarterback. I feel like we are similar in that aspect. I have nothing but respect for his game. I was sad to see him leave.”

At the immediate start of camp, we see Ogunjobi in Tuitt’s old spot at end in the base because Alualu is starting training camp on the physically unable to perform list thanks to some knee-swelling in the wake of offseason training. So perhaps Montravius Adams starts off at the nose tackle spot while Ogunjobi begins camp at the end.

However, Ogunobi’s versatility may allow him to bump inside so the Steelers can get a longer look at second-year end Isaiahh Loudermilk or rookie DeMarvin Leal. Not to mention Chris Wormley, who started 14 games in Tuitt’s absence. Like Ogunjobi, he had a career-high seven sacks in 2021 as well.

In my view, if Ogunjobi prefers the end in the base, let him play there and put Alualu between him and Heyward at the nose.

No one is asking Ogunjobi to replace Tuitt by himself. But if the Steelers can most closely replicate the defensive front they had in 2020, that could go a long way toward solving their run defense woes. The Steelers defense only yielded 111.4 yards per game on the ground that year, 11th in the NFL. A much more respectable result than the ghastly display the unit called rush defense a season ago. Tuitt, Alualu and Heyward all played in 15 games that season.

Coming off that foot injury, Ogunjobi may not be the Mustang that Tuitt was. But if the Steelers at least turn him into an effective heavy-duty pickup, that should be an improvement.

Listen to Wednesday’s Bella Construction training camp podcast for more on the Steelers defensive line in 2022.

Listen: Tim Benz from Steelers training camp at Saint Vincent College

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