The Pittsburgh Steelers were active at the trade deadline, making two moves. After hearing that the Steelers acquired WR Mike Williams, a more surprising move to strengthen their EDGE group was trading a seventh-round pick for former Green Bay Packer Preston Smith.
Today, I wanted to look at and focus on 2024 run defense data on Smith, including league-wide and current Steelers. Included is a full rankings table by the end of the article for context. The goal is to compare how things have gone so far this season, and what Smith could provide the Black and Gold.
Up first, run snaps and total snaps:
Smith provided the Packers an above-average number of snaps, second on the team through nine games. His 308 total snaps ranks 50th in the NFL, along with 121 run snaps that lands a bit higher at 48th. That’s second-most out of focused players.
Other than T.J. Watt’s high snap counts, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig have suffered injuries in 2024, each missing multiple games. Smith’s ability to stay on the field in 2024 and throughout his tenth season in the NFL is one of the most attractive elements to his addition.
Next, let’s look at a very important aspect of being a quality run defender – tackling. The chart below looks at the players tackles per game and average tackle depth, with the latter suggesting quality play up front and attacking the line of scrimmage:
It’s been more quality over quantity for Smith in terms of tackling, despite his above-average snap opportunities. His 2.1 tackles per game ties for 64th out of the 120 qualifying edge rushers (min. 100 total snaps). The better news is a 1.4 average tackle depth that ties for 48th, joining a Steelers position group that is very strong overall already.
Herbig is one of only two qualifiers with an average tackle depth behind the line of scrimmage (-0.3) ranking second, along with Watt (1.1) also landing comfortably above the mean in tackles per game (4.1, T-sixth). Highsmith has also provided several tackles (24th), barely landing under the mean in tackle depth (2.2), tied for 84th with several peers.
Watt and Highsmith obviously have the quantity taken care of, and it’s great to see Herbig and Smith providing quality, which is exactly what you’re looking for in your rotation. Here’s to hoping that gels quickly for Smith in the Steel City.
This next view attempts to weigh positive and negative plays, using broken and missed tackle rates (negative plays) along with SIS positive play percentage which is the rate of run plays with the player on the field resulted in a positive expected points added (EPA), with lower percentages being the best:
The fantastic news is Smith has no broken/missed tackles in 2024, rather impressive considering his above-average snap usage. With some leakiness in Pittsburgh’s run defense recently, adding Smith who’s been a solid run tackler for Green Bay in 2024, is a standout quality that he optimistically continues.
All four Steelers landing above the mean in positive rate is also great to see, meaning they all provide a positive impact when on the field in run defense overall. Fits the Steelers culture and identity for sure. Smith’s 39.5-percent positive rate ties for 47th, solid, but is lowest of focused players. Bolstering that in a change of scenery and role wouldn’t surprise me at all.
To close, here is a more total view of the players in the run game:
- Points Saved per Play: The total of a player’s EPA responsibility on run plays using the Total Points system that distributes credit among all players on the field for a given play, with positive numbers being good. Totals are scaled up to map to the average points scored or allowed on a team level, with the player’s snap count determining how much to adjust. For run defense, that includes accounting for defenders in the box, blown blocks forced, broken tackles, turnovers, and turnover returns.
- Points Above Average per Play: using the same Total Points system and putting a number to their value above an average level player:
First, this view illustrates that to date, the Steelers edge rushers have all been above the line compared to the league as run defenders. That points to Smith being a luxury addition in this regard, landing below the mean ever so slightly in this more total view.
Tying for 64th in points saved per play and 62nd in points above average aren’t bad by any means, considering the 120 total edge rushers in the study.
Here is a wrap up rankings table of the data:
Tackling stands out clearly as Smith’s best 2024 feat in run defense, with no broken or missed tackles. That is huge, and hopefully carries over to the Black and Gold, especially considering some issues in this regard for Pittsburgh’s defense in 2024.
He is also above-average in snap counts and positive rate. Considering that rate uses EPA, which factors the impact to scoring on a play-by-play basis, this is great to see. Durability is another welcomed part of his addition compared to suffering through some painful lack of depth in recent seasons.
Having no below average ranks is very encouraging as well, and fills in some issues that have occurred for Pittsburgh at the position in 2024. The Steelers were already considered to have one of the best edge groups in the NFL, and bolstered that even further for pennies on the dollar. What’s not to like about that?
