Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 season is getting underway after the team finished above .500 but failing to make the postseason last year, we turn our attention to the next chapter of Steelers football and everything that entails. One thing that it means is that some stock evaluations are going to start taking on more specific contexts as we get into the season, reflecting more immediate plusses and minus rather than trends over long periods. The nature of the evaluation, whether short-term or long-term, will be noted in the reasoning section below.
Player: ILB Kwon Alexander
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: The veteran inside linebacker, who is set to take on an increasingly large role with the injury to Cole Holcomb, continues to prove to be worth the modest investment they paid for him. He sealed last Thursday’s win with an interception to end the game and has been a steady presence when on the field.
A ninth-year veteran, Kwon Alexander has seen a lot of football in his time. Once a Pro Bowler, he has also played the game at its highest level. Injuries and wear and tear have perhaps reduced some of his effectiveness, as well as what teams have asked of him, but he remains a fine player.
This is good news for the Steelers, who are now in need of him, as well as Elandon Roberts, as much as ever. Starting ILB Cole Holcomb suffered a season-ending injury against the Tennessee Titans last Thursday night, so Alexander and Roberts will have to go the rest of the way as full-time starters.
While the team could ask second-year Mark Robinson to step in and take on some of those snaps, it won’t be in a similar three-man rotational model. The Steelers viewed their top three as co-starters, effectively, each suited to certain roles, and Alexander, signed to a veteran salary benefit deal just after training camp started, got his share.
Through eight games, he has already amassed 353 defensive snaps or 61 percent of the Steelers’ total. He is on pace to play more this year than in any season since at least 2017, the year that he made the Pro Bowl, if not even earlier to 2016 when he logged over 1,000 snaps.
For his efforts, he has 41 tackles to show for it, of which five have been for lost yardage. He also has a forced fumble, a sack, and an interception, the pick coming the last time out. On a potential game-winning drive by the Tennessee Titans, he slammed the door with an interception with six seconds to play. CBs Darius Rush and Levi Wallace both missed opportunities to end the game with an interception earlier in the drive.
Alexander is likely to be the player to wear the green dot for the rest of the season, a role he has handled plenty in his career, frequently a captain on the teams for which he has played. Always a versatile player in rush, coverage, and run defense, he is quite the insurance policy for the Steelers, offering better play than a number of starters they’ve signed or traded for in recent years.
