The Pittsburgh Steelers are in a tough spot. Losing Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander along with a banged-up Elandon Roberts wasn’t part of the team’s plan. Anytime you’re pulling recently retired linebackers off the street, there’s going to be stress and it’s not going to look pretty.
In that respect, a guy like Mykal Walker should be given grace. Signed barely more than a month ago, he’s had to jump on a moving train and log significant snaps. But he’s become the guy opposing offenses target and it’s reflected in the numbers.
According to our weekly charting, quarterbacks are having a field day going after him. Based on our numbers, Walker has been targeted 10 times, allowed six catches for 69 yards, and given up a pair of touchdowns. That’s an opposing QB rating of 120.4.
After a strong showing against the Cleveland Browns, Walker’s woes began last week. The Arizona Cardinals’ top weapon was TE Trey McBride and they repeatedly matched him up on Walker, especially on their 99-yard touchdown drive at the end of the first half. He was targeted three times on the drive, allowing three completions for 33 yards. Twice, he allowed third down conversions to McBride (in fairness, one required a great catch) while missing a tackle on RB Michael Carter that went for another third down conversion.
It was our concern for the New England Patriots’ game. Despite their historically bad offense, they had strengths at tight end, their leading healthy receiver TE Hunter Henry. Henry scored twice in the first half, including his first touchdown going against Walker in the red zone. The Pats designed the formation to go after him, aligning 3×1 “nub” with Henry backside, isolating him away from the rest of New England’s eligibles. Walker tried to carry him vertically but slipped as Henry broke to the inside, QB Bailey Zappe putting the ball on him for the score.
That was the second touchdown Walker gave up. The first came to RB Ezekiel Elliott on the Pats’ opening drive. Same formation and again, the intent was to isolate Walker. A rub route with Henry forcing Walker to work through his route to match Elliott in the flat. Walker couldn’t and Elliott gained leverage in the flat, making the catch and running into the end zone with little resistance.
A tough spot to be in for Walker, no question, and a nice scheme by the Patriots. A lot of linebackers will struggle to make that play. But it’s clear teams are going after Walker in passing situations, a weak link in that front seven.
For Pittsburgh, the alternatives are messy. Blake Martinez is even newer to the team than Martinez and he might be slower. Watching him in the handful of snaps he logged Thursday, he’s not going to run with most receivers. The Steelers clearly don’t trust Mark Robinson, playing everyone else instead of him. Nick Herbig has appeal but the team is correct in the difficulty of that transition during his rookie year. And now, the team has T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith in concussion protocol.
Using more of a dime defense might be the ticket. Trenton Thompson could shift to an off-ball position. Or Keanu Neal, who has linebacker experience, could log snaps there when he comes off IR. But Pittsburgh will have to do something different down the stretch or else teams will keep attacking Walker in the same way, likely with similar results.
If there’s any silver lining, none of the Steelers final four opponents figure to utilize their tight end as a high-end primary target. The Indianapolis Colts have intriguing talent there but their leading tight end is Kyler Granson, who has all of 20 receptions this season. The Cincinnati Bengals might have found something in Tanner Hudson but he’s the least of the team’s concerns when it comes to their passing game, especially assuming they’ll have WR Tee Higgins available for the rematch. Seattle’s Noah Fant is a matchup problem but he hasn’t gotten involved in the offense much while Baltimore has lost TE Mark Andrews for the regular season, though Isaiah Likely is a capable backup-turned-starter.
Still, opposing offenses know where to attack. Go after Walker and profit. That can’t continue to be a story the rest of the year.
