The Pittsburgh Steelers went out and overhauled their roster this offseason, seeing a bunch of old faces walk in free agency as they went out and added outside free agents on both sides of the football. LG Isaac Seumalo and CB Patrick Peterson headlined a group also including the likes of S Keanu Neal, LBs Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts, and Kwon Alexander, EDGE Markus Golden, DL Armon Watts, and IOL Nate Herbig.
However, through the first seven games of the season, it’s hard to argue that Holcomb hasn’t been Pittsburgh’s best free-agent signing to date. The former Washington Commander signed a three-year deal worth $18 million, hoping for him to be their new three-down linebacker in the middle of their defense. Given the numerous failed attempts Pittsburgh had in the free agent market prior to Holcomb, there was plenty of speculation whether the veteran linebacker would just be another failed shot or if he would yield dividends.
Holcomb has certainly been the latter for Pittsburgh up to this juncture of the season, providing the Steelers with an athletic, aggressive defender that can run sideline-to-sideline with great pursuit of the football. Holcomb seems to always be around the ball, having 53 total stops (32 solo) through seven games played thus far in 2023. He has shown that the foot injury that held him to just seven games played last year is far behind him as he pops up on tape, either being the first guy on the scene or rallying to the football to clean up and help get the stop.
Holcomb does a good job working through blocks and playing through contact as an off-ball linebacker, something that Pittsburgh’s previous inside linebackers couldn’t say as they often looked allergic to contact. He’s been a pretty sure tackler, missing just four tackles on 57 total attempts (7.0% miss rate) while showing the skill set to operate well in coverage, allowing just a 66% completion percentage for 115 yards in seven games according to Pro Football Reference. He delivers impactful hits, having forced two fumbles thus far on the year, but does a good job of striking correctly to avoid penalties like we saw in his hit on Raiders WR Davante Adams.
Seumalo has had moments this season where he has flashed, but he hasn’t been consistent enough to live up to the hype surrounding him when Pittsburgh signed him this offseason. The entire offensive line has underwhelmed to this point, and the same can be said for Seumalo who was hoped to be Pittsburgh’s most impactful free-agent addition this offseason. Peterson has started to show his age in his first season in Pittsburgh as well, having come up with a couple of big plays in coverage, but got bested by WRs Brandon Aiyuk and Nico Collins in what turned out to be two big blowouts for the Steelers.
Roberts and Alexander have played well in their own right, but neither has provided the full package that Holcomb has as an every-down linebacker that can excel in all situations. He hasn’t been super flashy when it comes to racking up sacks or getting interceptions, but he has been steady, reliable, and has gotten the job done. That is exactly what the Steelers have needed at the inside linebacker position for years: someone they can rely on as the glue guy in the middle of the defense that holds everything together between the stars on the defensive front and S Minkah Fitzpatrick on the backend.
Cole Holcomb has more than met the expectations Steelers’ faithful had when the team signed him, making it hard to choose a better-performing outside free agent addition to date. Hopefully, we continue to see more splash come in Holcomb’s game, but based on what we’ve seen thus far, Pittsburgh has gotten a good return on their investment bringing Holcomb into the fold.
