The Pittsburgh Steelers have a need at inside linebacker, and they’ve acknowledged as much. Elandon Roberts proved himself to be a good starter last season, but the picture gets really murky from there. Cole Holcomb is still recovering from a gruesome leg injury sustained during the season while Kwon Alexander is recovering from an Achilles injury and is a pending free agent. So what do the Steelers do?
Cody Benjamin of CBSSports.com sees the need as well. On Thursday, he revealed his top 10 free-agent linebackers and potential fits. He estimates that three of them would be good fits for the Steelers. They are former Minnesota Vikings LB Jordan Hicks and former Seattle Seahawks LBs Jordyn Brooks and Bobby Wagner.
“Hicks is certainly more of a short-term bet coming off a serious leg injury in his 30s,” Benjamin wrote. “But he’s always been more savvy than splashy, proving reliable in all three of his NFL stops. A tone-setter for Brian Flores’ Minnesota Vikings group, he’s got the instincts and physical touch to remain an early-down regular.”
Per Pro Football Focus, the 32-year-old Hicks was on the field for 324 run snaps in 2023. He had 61 total tackles against the run at an average of 3.8 yards downfield. He missed eight missed tackles at a rate of 11.6 percent of snaps. That’s a lower percentage than Alexander and Mykal Walker had last year for Pittsburgh.
The Steelers could use a quality run defender, and Hicks certainly has a history of being that. The leg injury is concerning, but he only missed four games and started the final three games of the season.
While Hicks would be viewed as more of a stopgap or short-term option for the Steelers, Brooks would not. He will be celebrating his 27th birthday in October so he could be a steady presence in the middle of the field for a while.
“Brooks’ tape is often devoid of the kind of splashy plays typically expected of first-round picks, but he’s been one of the steadiest starters for an otherwise volatile Seattle Seahawks defense,” Benjamin wrote. “Appearing in 63 of 67 possible games over four years, he’s also eclipsed 110 tackles in every year as a full-time starter.”
Brooks wasn’t spectacular in any facet of the game last year, but he would be an upgrade over Holcomb in pass coverage. PFF had Holcomb allowing 13.5 yards per reception when being the primary defender while Brooks allowed 9.4. Brooks did not allow a passing touchdown in coverage either which is good to see.
Then we go from the youngest of the three to the oldest with Brooks’ teammate Bobby Wagner. Wagner may not be playing at the same level he was during the mid-2010s, but he was still good enough in 2023 to be named second-team All-Pro.
“After more than a decade of Pro Bowl service, of course, he can’t still be expected to go step for step with opponents in pass coverage,” Benjamin wrote. “But his big frame and wealth of knowledge enable him to outsmart and outmuscle at the heart of a defense.”
In 2023, Wagner had 183 combined tackles, 11 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks, and three passes defended. It’s easy to see why Wagner would be a quality option at linebacker even at his age. However, it would likely only be for a year and would simply push the need to address the position another season down the road.
It will be interesting to see whom the Steelers pursue in free agency. Will they prefer adding a quality run defender or someone adept in coverage? With free agency kicking off next week, hopefully fans won’t have long to wait.
