Last year, the Pittsburgh Steelers enjoyed the three-prong inside linebacker attack of Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts, and Kwon Alexander. At least, until the room fell apart. Holcomb suffered a devastating knee injury he hasn’t fully recovered from, Alexander tore his Achilles and remains a free agent, leaving Roberts to hold down the fort as he gritted out injuries of his own. Determined to build the room back up, Pittsburgh will have a similar three-man attack at the position in 2024.
It won’t function the exact same way. Last season, all three players rotated in and out of the lineup. This year, Patrick Queen won’t come off the field. He’s too good and paid far too well. Looking at camp in a vacuum, you could argue Queen was the No. 1 player on the field in Latrobe and he had a strong outing in his debut Saturday night. But there will be a two-man rotation between Elandon Roberts and rookie Payton Wilson. Pittsburgh showed as much against the Buffalo Bills.
Though Roberts and Queen only played three series, the trend was clear. Queen played every snap. Roberts was used in the team’s 3-4 defense, their Okie front. And Wilson was used in nickel packages. Per our weekly charting, here’s the breakdown by personnel grouping over the first three drives, 15 snaps.
3-4 Defense (Three Snaps)
Patrick Queen: 3 snaps
Elandon Roberts: 3 snaps
Payton Wilson: 0 snaps
Nickel Defense (10 Snaps)
Patrick Queen: 10 snaps
Elandon Roberts: 0 Snaps
Payton Wilson: 10 Snaps
Dime Defense (1 Snap)
Patrick Queen: 1 snap
Elandon Roberts: 0 snaps
Payton Wilson: 0 snaps
Big Nickel (1 Snap)
Patrick Queen: 1 snap
Elandon Roberts: 1 snap
Payton Wilson: 0 snaps
For clarification, “big nickel” is the Steelers’ three safety package they often use against 12 personnel with athletic tight ends.
The lines are clear. Queen/Roberts in base, Wilson in nickel, Queen alone in dime. Once Queen and Roberts exited, Wilson played every snap until exiting with a concussion, mostly nickel and a couple of base snaps.
Assuming everyone is healthy for the start of the season, this is the general sense of how the rotation will go. That doesn’t come as a major surprise. Roberts is a hammer against the run and he can hold his own in coverage, Wilson is more athletic. These lines might not be as obvious in every game, Roberts could play in some nickel, Wilson some in base, but this is the general arc it’ll go. While Wilson isn’t a finished product and needs to refine his game, Pittsburgh is strong down the middle at inside linebacker with as much talent and depth they’ve had in a long time.
