The Pittsburgh Steelers believe they’ve addressed some of the concerns in the inside linebacker room with the signings of veterans Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts. In the process they may have landed a top 32 player at the position.
According to Pro Football Focus’ Trevor Sikkema, Holcomb — who spent the last four seasons with Washington — landed at No. 31 overall in the linebacker rankings Thursday morning, edging out Dallas Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch for the penultimate position in the rankings. Holcomb is part of Tier 7 in Sikkema’s rankings along with Miami’s Jerome Baker, Denver’s Alex Singleton, Detroit’s Malcolm Rodriguez and Vander Esch.
Sikkema calls Holcomb a “steady presence” for the Washington defense the last few years, which is in large part why the Steelers went after the veteran linebacker rather aggressively in free agency, landing him on a three-year, $18 million deal to seemingly shore up the inside linebacker room at the MACK position.
A four-year starter for the Washington Commanders after being drafted in the fifth round in 2019 out of North Carolina, Holcomb signed with the Steelers on March 15. Pittsburgh turned over its inside linebacker room, releasing Myles Jack, allowing Robert Spillane and Devin Bush to walk, and opting not to re-sign Marcus Allen.
The hope is that Holcomb, who only managed to play in seven games last season due to the injury, will be an upgrade over the likes of Jack and Bush. He’s proven to be a really effective run-stopper and was impressive in 2021 with Washington when he racked up 142 total tackles to go along with two interceptions and two forced fumbles. Holcomb’s still young — he’ll be 27 when the season starts — but coming off an injury there’s worry he won’t be as effective.
Holcomb recorded grades of 66.6 in 2022 and 56.7 in 2021, playing just over 1,500 snaps the last two seasons. For his career, Holcomb has played 2,740 snaps defensively.
He’s struggled in coverage, according to Pro Football Reference, allowing 135 receptions on 180 targets for 1,205 yards and eight touchdowns with a passer rating of 100.35 over the four years.
In the tackling department, Holcomb has missed 37 tackles in four seasons, per PFR, but has seen his missed tackles percentage decline each season, including a mark of just 5.5% in 2022.
The hope is that he’s a clear upgrade, and right now he seemingly represents that, at least at the inside linebacker position, landing inside the top 32 at the position in PFF’s rankings from Sikkema. However, it’s worth noting that at this time last year, Jack ranked No. 28 in Sikkema’s rankings, though he was in Tier 8 and part of a group labeled as “roller-coaster rides.”
