Article

Scouting Report: The Pros And Cons Of S Miles Killebrew

By Alex Kozora

Posted on April 2, 2022 at 9:30 am

New series we’ll conduct throughout the offseason. A review of individual players’ seasons, looking at their good, bad, role, and future with the team.

Picking things back up with a breakdown of safety Miles Killebrew.

Pros: Good size and build for a safety. Core and excellent special-teamer. Good hustle and energy. Finds the football. Physical playstyle and ability to finish. Sound open field tackler who is able to break down and shoot to take down the ballcarrier. Scheme and assignment sound on special teams and allowed him to block multiple punts in 2021. Big-safety package value and plays downhill against the run. Good locker room presence and energy on the team.

Notable Clips (Punt Blocks):

Cons: Limited defensive value. Below average athlete who lacks range. Won’t offer anything in coverage and limited to playing against run-heavy personnel in three-safety packages (12, 13, 22 personnel). Maxed out player and doesn’t have any additional upside, what you see is what you get. Good scheme helped put him in position for splash plays. Didn’t have many solo tackles on special teams in 2021.

Role: One of Steelers’ top special-teamers. Seven total tackles (four solo) on special teams in 2021. Four-phase player. 335 special teams snaps (68%) in 2021, second most on the team. 44 snaps on defense (including playoffs), 43 of them came against heavy personnel. 33 of them came against 13 personnel. One snap in a two-safety package (Wild Card game loss to Chiefs). Targeted three times on defense, allowing three completions for nine yards and no touchdowns.

Future: Signed two-year contract worth $4 million. Killebrew was a quality re-signing who will serve the same role in 2022. Doing it all on special teams and being one of the top players on this unit. He may continue to see occasionally time in three-safety packages against run-heavy groupings but won’t offer anything beyond that. A maxed out but known player and good player at the bottom of the roster.