Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan spent this offseason making radical changes to the inside linebacker depth chart. After multiple changes, both additions and subtractions, the only returning player is Mark Robinson.
Another big addition related to inside linebacker is the hire of new ILB coach Aaron Curry. Curry has been handed a clean slate of veteran players, a team with a reputation for a dominant defense and the expectation this group will be greatly improved this season.
The best approach for Curry might be to utilize the particular skill sets of a rather diverse group and create packages for situational football. The team has Cole Holcomb who is highly athletic and should be the lead linebacker on the team, playing the bulk of the snaps. He will be the guy who rarely leaves the field.
But building off from Holcomb, you have Elandon Roberts, Kwon Alexander, Mark Robinson and Tanner Must. For Curry, he has to figure out which guys work best under which situations and create a seamless rotation of guys. This will require a tremendous amount of communication and leadership from guys like safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and linebacker T.J. Watt.
This group might not be elite but it certainly has the potential to no longer be the weak link on defense. This has been the problem for the past several seasons. We are optimistic Curry will bring out the best in this group and find a mix of players to improve the defense.
