The Pittsburgh Steelers inside linebacker room was chaotic, to say the least, in 2023. The Steelers went into the regular season with Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts, and last-minute addition Kwon Alexander atop the depth chart. However, injuries would ravage that group, with only Roberts able to finish the season on the active roster. That pressed a lot of linebackers into service, including Myles Jack, Mykal Walker, and Mark Robinson.
The results on the field were unspectacular as well. We know that the Steelers gave up 16 passing touchdowns in 2023. Alex Kozora charted how each individual defender played in 2023, and he had Walker responsible for four of those touchdowns.
Alex and I discussed how assigning responsibility can be difficult, especially for inside linebackers in pass coverage. Whether you take Pro Football Focus’ number of five touchdowns or Alex’s four, Walker was a liability in pass coverage. Alex had him targeted 18 times in 2023, and he gave up 12 receptions for 171 yards and those four touchdowns. That’s almost 14.3 yards per reception and a touchdown on 33 percent of completions allowed.
When it comes to PFF’s numbers, Walker tied for the fifth-highest yards per catch in the league among linebackers with at least 100 coverage snaps at 12.2. The player he tied with? Myles Jack.
However, Walker is scheduled to be a free agent this offseason along with Jack, Alexander, and Blake Martinez. That means two things: One, the Steelers need to overhaul their depth at inside linebacker. Two, the Steelers must add a major rotational inside linebacker to replace Alexander.
Now, could the Steelers re-sign Alexander? Sure. He was arguably the best cover linebacker on the team in limited snaps due to injury. Alex charted Alexander as being targeted 13 times, and he allowed five catches for 15 yards while snagging one interception.
However, Alexander was a bit more lacking in the run defense department. The Steelers allowed 4.3 yards per carry to opposing running backs over the entire season. When Alexander was on the field? 4.6. PFF had Alexander on the field for 145 run defense snaps. He made 15 total tackles but missed seven, a mark that led the entire position group. He missed a tackle on 4.8 percent of his run defense snaps versus a tackle on 10.3 percent.
What could help Alexander stick is the fact that Holcomb wasn’t great in coverage in limited snaps as well. Alex had Holcomb only allow six receptions on 11 targets but gave up 75 yards on those completions. PFF’s numbers are a bit different and remember what I said about my discussion with Alex about how coverage numbers can be finicky. PFF had Holcomb having the worst yards per reception allowed in the league at 14.5 yards per catch.
Between Holcomb’s injury and performance in coverage, that might explain why Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette expects the Steelers to pursue a starter at inside linebacker.
So the Steelers could bring Alexander back for his coverage prowess. Or the team could add a linebacker who can cover well while providing more against the run. There is one more area to highlight from Alex’s end-of-year defensive charting. The Steelers blitzed 31.2 percent of the time in 2023, the highest percentage since 35.6 in 2020. In fact, four inside linebackers had pass rush percentages above 10 percent, meaning they rushed the passer over 10 percent of the time they saw a passing play on the field.
Free Agent Options
So, who could the Steelers target if they choose the free-agent route? There are a few names that are interesting and could provide, at minimum, some rotational appeal.
Miami Dolphins LB Jerome Baker
Baker is the hot name after being a surprise release from the Dolphins Tuesday. He was released with the reason being a failed physical after he had wrist surgery on January 8th. For a detailed write-up of why Baker would make a lot of sense for the Steelers, check out Josh Carney’s article.
Baker dropped into coverage 397 times in 2023 and was targeted 51 times. He allowed 45 receptions but only allowed 7.9 yards per reception, just over half the YPC that Holcomb allowed. He did allow two touchdowns in coverage but also had two of his five career interceptions. He would be a good fit coverage-wise for the Steelers.
Houston Texans LB Blake Cashman
Cashman burst onto the scene in his first season, seeing over 70 percent of the defensive snaps since his rookie season with the New York Jets in 2019. He saw only 71 percent of defensive snaps for the Texans, but he made the most of those snaps. He finished the season with 106 combined tackles, nine tackles for a loss, two sacks, five passes defended, one interception, and one fumble recovery.
Against the pass, Cashman saw 413 coverage snaps and was targeted 60 times. He allowed 44 receptions and 7.9 yards per catch while only giving up two touchdowns to go with his passes broken up and an interception. He was good against the run, recording 62 total tackles on running plays and only missing five tackles on 320 run snaps. He rushed the passes 47 times (10.2 of passing snaps) and got some sort of pressure (sack, hit, or hurry) on nine of those rushes.
Denver Broncos LB Josey Jewell
Jewell had a quality season with the Broncos. He finished the season with 108 total tackles, two tackles for a loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, and three passes defended. He dropped into coverage 403 times and was targeted 41 times. He gave up 35 receptions for 10.1 yards per reception and one touchdown, along with those three pass breakups. Jewell rushed the passer 73 times and generated 12 total pressures, including his three sacks. He was on the field for 320 run plays and was credited with 62 total tackles while missing five tackles.
What is sure is that the Steelers have options at inside linebacker in free agency. That’s a good thing for a team that needs help. The upcoming draft class is not necessarily the greatest, but the Steelers are doing their due diligence. One of the most prominent names they’ve met with is Edgerrin Cooper from Texas A&M. Josh Carney broke him down in his scouting report and came away feeling like he has serious promise as an NFL linebacker.
“Overall, there is so much to love about Edgerrin Cooper. He has great athleticism, is a twitched-up linebacker with terrific length, and has the production in the SEC to back up the pre-draft hype. He’s a perfect fit for that new-age, three-down linebacker in the NFL, one that can thrive against the run, handle coverage duties, and give defenses an answer in sub-package football.”
The Steelers should target a linebacker in free agency, but Cooper would be a quality addition through the draft to inject more youth and athleticism into the linebacker room.
