Track Record Shows What Once Made The Steelers A Menacing Terror Is Now The Ugly Problem For 2023

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a long-standing reputation built on the fundamentals of physicality. That reputation carries across every position on the depth chart and is stemmed from generations of DNA engrained in the franchise. In the 1970’s dynasty era, this reputation culminated into the catalyst in guiding the team to four Super Bowl wins.

Driving that was the forever-praised play-style of the inside linebacker duo of Jack Ham and Jack Lambert; both of whom are found in the Hall of Fame. That duo spurred a long line of future Steelers’ inside linebackers who would come into the league as a wide-eyed rookie and leave as a hard-hitting veteran. In that same breath, fans think of Lawrence Timmons and Larry Foote. The Steelers seemed to be the ‘Linebacker U’ for the NFL for years. But lately, something has caused a shift within the organization and no one knows what caused it; the Steelers have seemingly lost their way at inside linebacker.

The Steelers’ Days of Drafting and Developing Inside Linebackers Are Nearing an End

Death, taxes, and the Steelers drafting a linebacker; these are all things in life that come with certainty. If we look in the last decade, we’ve seen this certainty rear its head, only to not transpire according to plan. To amplify that, let's look at a couple of recent names that fall into that category. The selection of Ryan Shazier in 2014 as the 15th overall pick was huge for the Steelers. Shazier saw instant success in Pittsburgh and was a leader of the defense. The future was bright for Shazier and it seemed as though the Steelers found their franchise inside linebacker. However, we are all too familiar with the catastrophic injury Shazier suffered against the Cincinnati Bengals in 2017. Aside from the obvious horrific, life-changing and career-ending event for Shazier, the Steelers were forced to start from scratch in their search for his replacement.

Heading into the 2019 season, the Steelers thought they found the inside linebacker they’ve been looking for. This led to them making a splash in the 2019 NFL Draft in trading into the first 10 selections for Devin Bush Jr. where they saw success early yet again. Bush Jr. played above his potential as a rookie and was poised for a breakout year as a sophomore in 2020. But similar to Shazier, those plans were put on hold after suffering a major injury, but in the form of a torn ACL for Bush Jr. Since then, he’s never been the same and was sent packing his bags and headed west to Seattle for a fresh start in 2023. So, now what?

The Steelers’ hunt for a stud at inside linebacker doesn’t stop at the draft. In fact, it seems as though we’ve seen more free agent inside linebackers walk through the Steelers’ facility in the last five years than we have in decades. It is as if they are convinced they can find another ‘2002 James Farrior’ year after year. That search has yet to see any fruits of its labor.

With names like Mark Barron, Jonathan Bostic, Joe Schobert, and most recently Myles Jack, the Steelers have grossly struck out in that space. Further, the Steelers defense has only featured a starting inside linebacker duo that was drafted by Pittsburgh in 2017 with Shazier and Vince Williams then in 2019 with Bush Jr. and Williams. Since then, it has just been a revolving door of lackluster names on the depth chart who have come and gone.

The Steelers’ efforts to revitalize the inside linebacker corps extended beyond the players they brought in. Just last year, the acquisition of Brian Flores as the team’s senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach carried a new sense of hope. Fans thought the leadership and expertise of Flores is exactly what Bush Jr. needed to get back to his rookie self. Not to mention, by also welcoming Jack as Bush Jr.’s running mate, things finally started to look promising.

Fast-forwarding to today, all three of those names are out of Pittsburgh and the Steelers find themselves back to square one. What has now become the new standard in Pittsburgh, they welcomed a slew of free agent linebackers in Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts, and special team specialist Tanner Muse. In addition to them comes a new inside linebackers coach from Seattle in Aaron Curry.

Finally, they signed Keanu Neal to help round out the middle of the defense. Although Neal carries a “safety” designation next to his name, he found himself playing inside the box as the weakside linebacker within the Dallas Cowboys’ defense in 2021. Although he moved back into his original safety role in 2022 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it is safe to say the Steelers want to see what he can do back at linebacker.

The inside linebacker corps in Pittsburgh remains as one of the biggest holes on the depth chart heading into camp. In hindsight, this may reveal itself as one of the largest wasted opportunities in the recent draft. Although this year’s class won’t be known for top-tier talent at inside linebacker, it was a deep pool of names with talent being available in almost every round. But after the dust settled, the Steelers ultimately decided to walk away without a rookie inside linebacker.

Considering the remaining parts of the depth chart and how they’re positioned for success this season, the Steelers can’t afford to miss again at inside linebacker in 2023. Roberts has already declared himself as the seasoned leader of the group, but the results of that are yet to be determined. In addition to the other free agent veterans, Mark Robinson is the only inside linebacker on the roster of Steelers' draftees’ past at the position. Beyond Robinson, there is arguably nothing. This is a concern.

This indicates one of two things; either the Steelers are content with the talent they have in-house, or they are setting the stage for one more free agent acquisition before training camp kicks off later this summer. For an organization who has been known for their inside linebackers, only for that position to be the weakest part of the defense for the past several seasons, the Steelers need to find a way to revamp the middle of their defense. This need is dire. This could be the key to the team’s success in 2023.

What do you think of the inside linebacker group so far? Do you see this as being the biggest concern on defense in 2023? Let us know in the comments below!

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