No positional unit got more attention this offseason than inside linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The front office completely gutted out the depth chart and started over. But even with all the changes, this unit is still the most glaring weakness on the team. This is a sentiment shared by ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes in breaking down the Steelers defense.
“My concern is on that frankly has been a concern with Pittsburgh ever since the retirement of Ryan Shazier and that is at linebacker. Looking at that depth chart, that’s what stands out to me, the middle of the defense that is continuing to be an issue both on run defense and in run coverage.”
The Steelers added Elandon Roberts and Cole Holcomb to replace Robert Spillane, Devin Bush and Myles Jack but in no way did they upgrade the position. Pittsburgh is going to have to do its best to mask the deficiencies at linebacker through scheme and personnel groupings. Don’t be shocked if you rarely see two inside linebackers on the field at the same time unless it’s an obvious run situation.
