Pittsburgh Steelers LB Elandon Roberts started his NFL career as a member of the New England Patriots, drafted in 2016 and joining a dominant roster with a linebacker room that featured Dont’a Hightower, Rob Ninkovich and Jamie Collins. On the most recent episode of The Christian Kuntz Podcast, Roberts, who joined the Steelers ahead of the 2023 season, reflected on his early years in New England and how that time helped him become a leader to the younger players on Pittsburgh’s roster.
“How I learned the playbook was I’d go, and I’d have to bring some beer, and I’d bring it Dont’a Hightower house, because Dont’a Hightower was a big stickler, like ‘Hey, if you want to learn the playbook, you gotta come to my house, ’cause I’m not staying in this facility all day.’ Jamie Collins was different because he wanted you to come to his house, because as he taught you the playbook, he wanted to beat you in pool,” Roberts said.
Roberts said that the day that Collins got traded to the Browns during his rookie season, he went over to Collins’ house and Collins told Roberts that it was Roberts’ time to take over, that he could be in the league for a “long time.” Roberts added that stepping into that bigger role made him appreciate the patience that then-Patriots defensive coordinator Brian Flores had with him, and he said that what he learned from the veteran linebackers and Flores helped him pay it forward.
“When we have rookies now in our room, I embrace ’em. I try to be that guy, I don’t try to be that guy, that vet, that’s like ‘Oh they brought him in and replaced me or this that and the other.’ Because I know when I’m on the field that I’m gonna get my opportunity, because I’m gonna put myself in the right situation to make stuff pop off,” Roberts said. “But I’m not going to hinder him from his growth because I used to be that guy that just wanted to grow. So why treat him a certain way I wasn’t treated?”
With the Steelers bringing in Payton Wilson this season after also signing Patrick Queen, Roberts very well could’ve had the mindset that they were bringing in his replacements. Last year, he was the only Steelers linebacker to remain relatively healthy for a full season and was really one of the heartbeats of Pittsburgh’s defense. Instead of taking exception to the Steelers drafting Wilson in the third round in April, he’s embraced the rookie and the younger pieces of Pittsburgh’s defense.
That’s what a good leader does. Roberts said it best, that he knows when he’s on the field, he can put himself in position to make the play. It wasn’t always that way, as he admitted he made his share of rookie mistakes, but said that’s where the patience that Flores and the veterans on that defense had with him came into play because they weren’t going to kill him for it.
Exercising that same patience with some of the younger guys on Pittsburgh’s defense will make the unit better in the long run, as long as it’s coupled with showing them the ropes and teaching them, which it sounds as if Roberts is doing the same as Hightower and Collins did for him.
Roberts has been one of the best free agent pickups for the Steelers in recent years. The term “glue guy” is more of a basketball term about someone who might not be a star player but that the team is simply better when they’re around, and Roberts is the ultimate glue guy for the Steelers. Not only does his smashmouth “see ball, hit ball” play style work perfectly in Pittsburgh, but his leadership and attitude make him a really great asset for the defense.
