Since the tragic Ryan Shazier injury in 2017, the Pittsburgh Steelers have seemingly been on an endless merry-go-round at the inside linebacker position.
The Steelers have tried the cheap veteran patchwork deals in free agency with names like Jon Bostic, Mark Barron, Avery Williamson, and Myles Jack, and even via trade with Joe Schobert. Pittsburgh also tried to fill the hole via the NFL Draft, trading up for Devin Bush in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
Things didn’t work out there, either.
So, Pittsburgh got back on the merry-go-round again this offseason, inking Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts, Tanner Muse, Nick Kwiatkoski and recently Kwon Alexander to try and find answers at the position. It still remains very early in training camp and the Steelers are still a few days away from playing in their first preseason game, but initial returns with Holcomb are promising overall.
Steelers Depot’s own Alex Kozora has been rather pleased with what he’s seen from Holcomb to date at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe throughout training camp.
“If ILB Cole Holcomb can play the way he’s playing this summer in the fall, Pittsburgh will be very happy with its signing. It’s just camp but the inside linebacker room looks stronger. High-energy group, too,” Kozora wrote in his Day 10 training camp diary Sunday evening from Latrobe.
Though the pads weren’t on Sunday, Holcomb played with a ton of energy and physicality, forcing a fumble on second-year wide receiver Calvin Austin III on a hustle play, running hard to punch the ball out from behind on a jet sweep to the speedy playmaker.
It’s just training camp, but the Steelers haven’t seen their inside linebackers make many game-changing plays in recent years. Holcomb’s forced fumble was a positive sign at the position.
That splash play from Holcomb was a continuation of what he’s done in training camp to date. On Saturday, Holcomb blew up a toss play to Najee Harris for a loss in team session and had a strong day overall against the run and in coverage. That is exactly why the Steelers went after him aggressively in free agency.
Friday night at the Steelers’ famed Friday Night Lights practice, Holcomb was all over the field again, showing off his athleticism and playmaking ability. On a screen pass from quarterback Kenny Pickett to running back Jaylen Warren in a team session, Holcomb blew it up for a loss of four yards.
We’ll see if Holcomb can carry over his playmaking in training camp into preseason action and then into games that truly count in the regular season. But so far the returns have been promising. It’s a good sign that the Steelers have aggressiveness and playmaking at the position once again.
Too often in recent years the inside linebackers were far too passive and just didn’t make plays behind the line of scrimmage. Now, with Holcomb, along with Roberts and Alexander, the Steelers have three veterans that play with serious physicality and make plays behind the line of scrimmage. That should only help the Steelers defense.
Initially one of the bigger question-mark moves the Steelers made in the offseason, Holcomb certainly looks worth the investment through the first two weeks of training camp. The Steelers have to be rather happy with his showing.
