At 6-foot-8, Calais Campbell towers over most of the offensive linemen he faces in a given week -- even in the NFL. And at 300 pounds, he has the strength that makes his extreme length a test for even the most powerful of offensive linemen.
With Marcus Gilbert to miss his fourth consecutive game with a knee issue when the Steelers travel to Jacksonville to face the Jaguars Sunday, the challenge of containing Campbell will fall to unheralded backup Matt Feiler.
Gilbert won't be the lone starter out for this game. Defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt also missed his third consecutive day of practice Friday with a hyperextended elbow and will sit this one out, though running back James Conner made it through his third consecutive practice Friday. Conner had been in concussion protocol following the Steelers' win last week over Carolina but has been taken off the team's injury report.
In most cases, starting a backup offensive lineman against a team with as much defensive line talent as Jacksonville would be a major point of concern for a team. Typically, undrafted backups don't fare too well against All-Pro players such as Campbell. But Feiler hasn't been just any backup.
"He’s just a big, strong powerful guy, obviously with length. You’ve just got to stay on him," Feiler told me. "He’s one of those guys you don’t see very often. But it’s the NFL, so you can’t be very surprised by it."
You can, however, be surprised it's Feiler lining up opposite him -- at least if you haven't been paying attention to what's been happening for several years on the Steelers' offensive line.
The 6-foot-6, 330-pound product of Bloomsburg University will make his fifth start of the season when the Steelers play the Jaguars. The Steelers have won Feiler's previous four starts -- all at right tackle -- and averaged 34.5 points while doing so.
Feiler finally allowed a sack for the first time this season in last week's 52-21 win over the Panthers, allowing future Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end Julius Peppers to get to Ben Roethlisberger for Carolina's lone sack, but he's been outstanding on the right side other than that.
It's gotten to the point where his teammates don't even think about Feiler being in the lineup, even against a player such as Campbell, who had 14 sacks last season and has five this year.
"Absolutely. He’s somebody’s been doing it for a very long time," left tackle Alejandro Villanueva told me. "He’s worked every position on the line, center, guard, tackle. He’s got the same development we all do. The expectation is something that, in the o-line room especially, we make sure we have a good environment to individuals performing."
That Feiler would excel at run blocking was never in doubt. Bloomsburg, which competes in the NCAA Division-II PSAC, has traditionally been a run-heavy offense.
Thus, when teams began to notice him before his senior season, it was as a run blocker.
"My offensive line coach told me I was starting to get on the radar, people were asking about me," Feiler told me. "He told me to stick with what I was doing. Obviously, something was working. He told me to keep working hard."
Feiler did that. He continued to improve on his already impressive strength. And he helped running back Franklyn Quiteh win the 2013 Harlon Hill Trophy, the NCAA Division II version of the Heisman Trophy, after a 2,195-yard season with 29 touchdowns.
That didn't get Feiler drafted, but it did get him into training camp with the Houston Texans in 2014 and onto their practice squad for that season. But he was released at the end of training camp in 2015 and the Steelers immediately signed him to their practice squad.
Feiler spent the entire 2015 season on the Steelers' practice squad, then opened the 2016 season on the practice squad before being activated for one game in October of that season. He was subsequently released a week later and added back to the practice squad again and signed to a futures contract after the season.
Finally, Feiler made the team's active roster coming out of training camp to open the 2017 season and has been a valuable backup since. Check that, make that starter this season.
Sunday's start will give him one more than Gilbert at right tackle this season. The Steelers don't blink at having to start Feiler -- not that they ever have -- despite a tough matchup with Campbell this week.
"Yeah, it really hasn’t been a concern," offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner said. "He got his first start at tackle down in Tampa and played exceptionally well then, and he just keeps doing that. I think that’s just another credit to that room."
And what offensive line coach Mike Munchak and assistant line coach Shaun Sarrett have done working with not only Feiler, but others, such as Villanueva, Chris Hubbard and B.J. Finney in recent years.
The stories are all different. The paths they have traveled to get to this point vary. But the results for those four undrafted players have been the same.
The Steelers will start two of those players, Villanueva and Feiler, at offensive tackle against a Jaguars defensive unit that is among the league's best -- and highest paid. Jacksonville has invested nearly $50 million in its defensive line this season.
But it doesn't matter how you get to the NFL or how much you're being paid. The only results that matter are what you do on the field.
"It’s been an incredible journey so far," Feiler told me. "I can always look back to where I started out playing football, to where I’m at now, it’s all a whirlwind.
"I’m playing the sport I love, and having fun doing it along with the other guys."