The Pittsburgh Steelers kept their busy offseason going, adding yet another piece to their revamped linebacker room with the signing of Kwon Alexander. So, I will continue the series by looking at data of his 2021 season in run defense, following up my 2022 run defense article I did on Alexander recently. This study will include Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts, Keanu Neal (who played at linebacker with the Cowboys that year), and 2021 Steelers as well for comparative context. Using data from Pro Football Focus (PFF), I will take a similar approach to the article I did earlier this offseason, and today’s focus will primarily be on Alexander.
Let’s get right to it, starting with run defense snaps and average tackle depth to get a gauge of the quantity of plays and yardage comparatively.
Right away we can see Alexander had the least run snaps of the players we’re focused on (170), which ranked at a low 71st out of 79 qualifying linebackers. This came in 12 games played for the Saints in 2021, missing time on the injured reserve list with an elbow injury. This brings up a concern on Alexander’s resume, which includes quite a list of other injuries (ACL, pec, biceps, Achilles heel) in eight NFL seasons. Last year gave recent optimism though, playing in all 17 games for the Jets with 286 run snaps, which was slightly below the NFL mean (50th). An interesting difference between Alexander’s time with the two squads was his run and coverage usage, with a closer split leaning towards run defense with the Jets in 2022, while he played much more in coverage in 2021 with the Saints (280 coverage snaps), which I will examine soon.
Alexander was third among the highlighted players with an average depth of tackle of four, which was slightly below league average (T-48th), and right at the goal number that running backs try to eclipse. Roberts fared best in these terms, the only above-the-mean player in both, at a nice 3.1 average depth of tackle that ranked a strong 15th on 321 run snaps (36th).
Now let’s look at types of tackles, solo versus assisted tackles against the run:
From a quantity perspective as a run tackler, Alexander lands on the extreme lower left of the chart, which is reasonable considering his low run snap opportunities. He had 18 solo run tackles (T-70th) and five assists (second least), on the ninth least run snaps in 2021. In 2022, he followed this up with 22 solo run tackles (T-68th) and matched his assist total (five), which tied for last among the qualifying linebackers, despite a noticeable increase in opportunity. Holcomb stands out in this visual, providing encouraging tackle totals in a healthy 2021 season, ranking 10th in solo run tackles (52) and sixth in assists (30), and hopefully he can provide that availability and presence this season for the black and gold. While I didn’t expect Alexander to top the visual, we get important context to his raw stats the last two seasons as a run defender, before we dive into more advanced metrics.
Next, I wanted to see how the players fared in a ‘hit or miss’ type view with stop percentage, which uses the successful play rates formula (less than 40% on first down, 50% or less on second down, and third or fourth down plays kept from a first down or touchdown) and missed tackle percentage:
Alexander provided his first above-the-mean result of the article in this view, with an 8.4% stop rate that topped the focused players, and tied for 22nd league wide at the position. His lower snaps are again important to weigh into the equation, but did have a much better rate than 2022 (4.7%) that tied for the fourth lowest mark in the NFL. Here’s to hoping that arrow points back up for him. The bad news in Alexander’s last two seasons as a run defender were unfortunately missed tackle rates, coming in at 17.9% in 2021 which was third worst (77th), with Roberts unfortunately dead last as well. Alexander’s 2022 number was poor as well (15.6%), ranking 72nd. This highlights recent inconsistencies in the run game across both seasons, so if the data holds true there will be some exciting plays along with some face palms as well. An encouraging sight for the 2023 group is seeing Holcomb above the mean in both, the only focused player to do so.
To close, let’s look at a more total view of how the players fared in the run game with PFF run defense grades along with points above average per play (a players EPA responsibility on run plays using the total points system that distributes credit among all players on the field for a given play, and accounts for defenders in the box, blown blocks forced, broken tackles, and turnovers) from Sports Info Solutions (SIS):
Through Pittsburgh lenses, we see the vast majority of the group landed on the bottom right, which highlights former and current Steelers struggling as run defenders in the 2021 season overall. Holcomb was the only player above the mean in both, while Roberts had a slightly above average PFF grade. Alexander landed well below the mean in both data points, with a lowly 34.8 run defense grade that ranked 71st, while his points above average tied for 67th.
So, the run defense findings on Alexander in the 2021 season were subpar overall with the Saints in 12 games played. Where he fared best was stop rate (T-22nd), and was below average in every other aspect of the study. Alexander was slightly below the mean in average depth of tackle (T-48th), but the rest of his marks landed much lower: points above average (T-67th), solo run tackles (T-70th), run defense grade (71st), run snaps (74th), third worst in missed tackles (77th), and second least in assists (78th). Alexander made some notable improvements with the Jets, starting with being available for all 17 games, encouraging after several injuries in his career. He trended very positively in points above average (T-17th), average depth of tackle (T-20th), along with an improved run defense grade (T-45th), but was again towards the bottom of the qualifiers in solo run tackles (T-68th), missed tackle rate (T-72nd), and assists (T-last), while having a notable downtrend in stop rate (T-77th). Being towards the bottom of the position group each of the last two seasons in missed tackle rate is highest on my radar for Alexander to hopefully improve, and knock on wood he can find more consistency as a run defender this year.
Pittsburgh certainly cleaned house at the linebacker position. Here’s to hoping Alexander and the 2023 group fare well for the black and gold this season, considering this year’s position group made strides overall in 2022. One thing’s for sure, I can’t wait to see how it all pans out.
What are your thoughts on the data and the 2023 outlook at the position? Thanks for reading and let me know your thoughts in the comments.
