A defense is at its best when it can get home with a four-man rush, but a creative defensive coordinator will find opportunities to bring a blitzing linebacker. Whether that is sending one right up the A gap from the start or twisting with a defensive lineman, a well-timed blitz can blow up a play before it has a chance to begin. Last season, the Steelers barely made use of their inside linebackers in this way.
In 2023, the Steelers were 23rd in pass-rush snaps from their inside linebackers. They had just 125, which, when compared to the Detroit Lions’ league-leading 341, is a very small amount. Part of that was due to the seven inside linebackers who were forced to start due to injury and suspension. That limited the Steelers’ options, but the numbers aren’t that much higher in 2022. Over the last two seasons combined, to account for the attrition that potentially changed the Steelers’ capabilities on defense, they ranked 17th in the league with 286 pass-rush snaps from their inside linebackers.
Other than the handful of games that the Steelers had three solid ILBs last season, one could argue that they haven’t had a sufficient level of talent in that room for several years. The failed Devin Bush experiment and a rotating door next to him were consistently the weakest part of the defense.
That has all changed now, and the ILB group is probably the deepest and most talented on the team. Elandon Roberts is plenty capable as a blitzer with his aggressive downhill style, and he has 9.5 sacks since 2020 to show for it. But the two with the most potential in that area are Payton Wilson and Patrick Queen.
Queen is tied for the fifth-most sacks at the position since 2020 with 13.5. You can view a film room I put together with a clip of every sack here. The Ravens have been one of the most aggressive with sending their ILBs, but it is no coincidence that they have also been one of the most talented groups during that time with Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen.
Since 2020, Payton Wilson has 15 sacks at the collegiate level. That is good for the fourth most in the NCAA over that time, granted that excludes underclassmen who didn’t play four full seasons. I did a similar breakdown on all of Wilson’s college sacks here.
So now the onus is on defensive coordinator Teryl Austin and head coach Mike Tomlin (who has a large say in the defense) to get creative with the ways they deploy these talents.
| Steelers’ ILB Sacks By Year | |
| 2023 | 3 |
| 2022 | 1 |
| 2021 | 2 |
| 2020 | 7 |
| 2019 | 6.5 |
| 2018 | 8 |
| 2017 | 10 |
The trendline for the Steelers’ ILB sacks over the last six seasons has been aiming straight down. The decline started before Austin took over as the coordinator, but he has done nothing to turn it around. Given the talent the Steelers have assembled for the 2024 team, I think they can pretty easily exceed the eight sacks that the 2018 defense got from the ILB position. Can they hit double-digit sacks from the four-man rotation of Wilson, Roberts, Queen, and Holcomb and become the first group to do so since 2017 when Vince Williams had eight? That seems like a good goal.
It could add a whole new element to this defense, and for that, I am excited.
