In an important offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ franchise, there are a number of holes on the roster that are generating quite a bit of attention.
Quarterback, offensive line, defensive line and cornerback are the positions that are garnering the most attention. But there is one position that is being a bit glossed over currently that might be, at least from my point of view, the most important of the bunch for the Steelers outside of quarterback.
That would be the inside linebacker position. Again.
I fear I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but the Steelers just haven’t figured out the position since Ryan Shazier’s tragic career-ending injury.
Not since the days of Shazier have the Steelers had that true, game-changing inside linebacker. To the Steelers’ credit, they seemed to find an answer last offseason with the signings of Cole Holcomb, Kwon Alexander and Elandon Roberts. Through no fault of the franchise — or the players themselves — the position is in a state of flux again due to the nature of the injuries that Holcomb and Alexander suffered, ending their 2023 seasons prematurely.
There is no real timeline on Holcomb’s recovery ahead of the 2024 season coming off a torn ACL that was rather gruesome, and Alexander is set to be a free agent after suffering a torn Achilles — the second of his career. Due to the severity of the injuries and the uncertainty around them, inside linebacker remains a major need for the Black and Gold ahead of the 2024 season.
The Steelers still don’t have that answer, but this might be a great time to find one.
One answer could be in the 2024 NFL Draft, that being Texas A&M linebacker Edgerrin Cooper.
Cooper has good size, great athleticism and rather impressive traits overall. He’s an explosive athlete, one who will likely test off the charts at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
The Steelers are very interested in the linebacker as I reported for Steelers Depot from the East-West Shrine Bowl in Dallas. Despite that interest in Cooper and there being a very clear need at linebacker given the uncertainty at the position, there’s quite a bit of hand-wringing about potentially drafting a linebacker in the first round — or even early in the draft in general.
Positional value comes up quite a bit, and it’s a fair argument. Linebacker isn’t as valuable as cornerback defensively or even the defensive line in today’s game focusing more and more on play in the trenches. However, the great defenses that are still around late in the season have a high-level off-ball linebacker who plays all three downs and makes game-changing plays.
Just look at Super Bowl LVIII. Nick Bolton for the Chiefs, Fred Warner for the 49ers. Sure, those guys were not first-round picks, but if there was a re-draft, they’d be top 10-15 picks based on their skills.
The Steelers can even look within their division for more examples. Patrick Queen and Roquan Smith in Baltimore form arguably the best pair of off-ball linebackers in football. The trade for Smith helped unlock the next level to the Ravens’ defense, making it one of the best in the league. You can’t really skimp on that position.
Pittsburgh hasn’t exactly skimped, but last offseason felt like a bit of patch work. That’s no disrespect to Holcomb, Alexander and Roberts, but none of the three should be viewed as long-term answers or foundational linebackers for the Black and Gold. The Steelers tried that, and it backfired with Devin Bush, but that shouldn’t cause the Steelers to avoid being aggressive at that position through the draft.
Teams are going to start searching for those answers at the position moving forward, especially after seeing how important it remains. Cooper is likely going to be a first-round pick, going off the board late in the opening round. If he falls to the second round, he won’t be on the board very long on Day 2.
The Steelers can’t take the chance that he’ll be there on Day 2. If they like him enough, make the move at No. 20 overall, position value be damned. Take the best player. If that’s an inside linebacker, then so be it.
I gave him a late Day 1 grade, and in a year where there isn’t going to be more than maybe 20 first-round graded players, the Steelers are in that sweet spot for the draft. Take the best player available. That very well might be Cooper when they’re on the clock.
They need to find that answer. They seem to know that, having done a lot of work on Cooper, and undoubtedly other off-ball linebackers in the 2024 NFL Draft. They might even be looking at some free agents, too. As they should. It’s a position of great need, one that people don’t seem to want to come around on yet this offseason.
