Former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier was a guest on The PM Team with Poni and Mueller this afternoon on 93.7 The Fan, and Shazier dove into why he’s confident about Pittsburgh’s inside linebacker room this season.
“I actually liked the approach that they took this year when it came to the linebackers, because previously when me and Vince [Williams] were there before, even when me and Vince were there and after me and Vince left, it was a bunch of young guys in there. And they’ll bring in a veteran here or there, but the route that they took this year was ‘we’re just gonna bring in a bunch of veterans and allow them to understand the system that we have and they should be able to catch on” Shazier said. “From the preseason what I’ve seen, I’m liking what I’m seeing,” he added.
Shazier feels that the talent level lived up to expectations in their first preseason game.
“I think they have the guys and players that can do a really good job and then just how they were performing in the preseason game,” he continued. “It made me feel confident how the linebacker position looks.”
Pittsburgh’s inside linebacker position has been it’s least stable position over the years, with patchwork fixes like Joe Schobert and Myles Jack unable to do enough to stick around for more than a year. Pittsburgh completely revamped the room this offseason by letting Devin Bush and Robert Spillane walk while cutting Jack and adding Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts and Kwon Alexander to compete for the starting job.
None of those three played a ton of snaps, with Holcomb the leader at 25, but they all found their way onto the stat sheet. Even Roberts recorded a tackle in one of his just two snaps. All three of those guys excel in run defense, and Alexander was especially fun to watch on Friday.
It’s a unit that should be an upgrade over what Pittsburgh has had over the past few seasons, and the addition of Alexander at the start of training camp makes it a much more well-rounded group. His coverage ability is better than that of Holcomb and Roberts, and it gives the team more depth and more options, which is never a bad thing. One preseason game isn’t enough to be fully comfortable with the play of the unit, but it was no doubt promising.
Holcomb is also coming off a foot injury that ended his 2022 season, so being able to play 25 snaps and work as much as he has in training camp is a good sign that the injury won’t be a bother for him this year. Before his injury, Holcomb was a leader of Washington’s defense and a really skilled tackler. He could wind up being an underrated addition for Pittsburgh.
There are still two more preseason games and more training camp practices before Pittsburgh rounds their roster into form. But, between Holcomb, Roberts and Alexander with Mark Robinson waiting in the wings, the inside linebacker room is going to be one to watch. There’s a chance that it doesn’t work out, but the early returns are promising. It should be a group that helps anchor a defense that should be among the league’s best.
