ILB Kwon Alexander had his first practice as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers today, and after practice, he talked to reporters. Alexander discussed his fit alongside Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts and his ability to play man coverage.
“I can do it all,” Alexander said via video posted to Twitter by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Those guys, they can do it too, I’ve been watching them out here, they can do it all. We’re working to be the best linebacker group there is.”
Alexander also expressed confidence in his coverage ability when asked.
“Very confident. Very confident in myself, very confident in my abilities to go out there and make plays.”
The Steelers’ linebacker room got a lot better with the addition of Alexander, who brings more coverage ability to the unit than either Holcomb, Roberts or Mark Robinson. He was quite complimentary of his teammates and their ability to get downhill and cover, but the reality is that Alexander should be an upgrade in coverage.
But he’s also a downhill thumper, something that Roberts does well too. So it’s going to be a good competition for the second inside linebacker spot. Holcomb likely will be the three-down guy and wear the green dot on defense, while Roberts and Alexander will rotate, but the battle for the starter is officially on.
Roberts has a leg up because he’s more familiar with Pittsburgh’s defense, but as Alexander gets up to speed, something he thinks he’ll able to do quickly, it’s going to be a good competition. The inside linebacker room was a little bit shaky behind Holcomb and Roberts, so adding Alexander gives the Steelers three proven veterans that they can roll with.
Omar Khan has done a great job adding competition across position groups this offseason, and this move makes the Steelers better and also adds some competition. Alexander comes with the reputation of being a great locker room presence and teammate, and you could see that today with him going out of his way to compliment his fellow linebackers’ ability to “do it all” when he was asked about them having more specialized roles.
He’s going to be a nice addition to the Steelers’ locker room and their defensive identity with his ability to lay the lumber, and he helps eliminate what looked to be a weak spot on Pittsburgh’s defense. It’s a great move by Khan, and I’m excited to see Alexander get up to speed and show out at his full ability.
