During a discussion about the potential need for taking a cornerback in the April draft, general manager Kevin Colbert made sure to note problems with coverage aren’t always in the back end of the defense.
While saying the Steelers could “absolutely” add a cornerback in the draft, especially because of the uncertainty surrounding the comeback of Senquez Golson, Colbert concluded his observation with an unsolicited comment that goes more directly to the problem confronting the defense:
“There is a lot more to coverage than just the secondary, as we all know,” Colbert said.
Welcome to the Steelers’ biggest objective for the offseason: Finding the missing piece for a defense that is young and developing, but still one card short of a full deck.
The answer lies at outside linebacker and the ability to consistently generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
“That’s a piece of the puzzle that I think we can identify we want to improve on,” team president Art Rooney II said.
Ask any architect of the 3-4 defense — Bill Cowher, Dom Capers, Dick LeBeau, any of them — they will all say the secret to being successful with that alignment is being able to generate pressure from the outside linebackers. Keith Butler, the Steelers defensive coordinator, agrees. But knowing that is the case and rectifying the problem isn’t always that easy.
And it’s not as though the Steelers haven’t addressed the issue.
Two of their past four No. 1 draft choices have been outside linebackers with reputations for pressuring the pocket — Jarvis Jones with the 17th overall pick in 2013 and Bud Dupree with the 22nd overall pick in 2015. But neither has delivered the type of smash the Steelers historically have been accustomed from that position.
Injuries and James Harrison have stood in the way of Jones, who in four seasons with the team registered just six sacks — or less than half the total he registered as a junior at Georgia when he led the nation with 14 ½ sacks. Jones, though, is an unrestricted free agent and unlikely to be re-signed by the Steelers.
With the Steelers indicating they are “open” to Harrison returning for another season at age 39, and based on the number of snaps he played in the final six games (358 of 383), Jones likely will look elsewhere to play in 2017. That creates a dismal outlook for the future on the right side of the defense. And a strong possibility the Steelers will address that spot — again — in the first round of the draft.
Could they sign a veteran free agent for that position?
They could, but, as long as Harrison is in their plans for 2017, it doesn’t make sense to bring in another veteran to back him up.
Harrison showed enough in 2016 — leading the team in sacks with five and anchoring what is statistically the strongest side of the run defense — the idea of bringing in a veteran to supplant him as a starter is equally confounding. Harrison is an unrestricted free agent and, if he is re-signed, the expectation is for the Steelers to bring in a top rookie to learn, split time and eventually replace the former NFL defensive player of the year.
Harrison was sixth on the team in tackles against the run (21), surprisingly, just one more than Jones (20). But he led the team with five tackles for loss against the run, helping the Steelers rank second in the league when opponents ran off left tackle, allowing an average gain of 2.82 yards.
Still, five sacks from your top edge rusher is not exactly what the Steelers have in mind for an outside linebacker.
The Steelers ranked fourth in the AFC with 38 sacks, but their five outside linebackers — Harrison, Dupree (4½), Arthur Moats (3½), Anthony Chickillo (2½) and Jones (1) — combined for fewer than half (16½). That total is just three more than Denver Broncos outside linebacker Vonn Miller, who led the AFC with 13½ sacks.
“I think getting pressure on the quarterback more consistently is something that we strive to do,” Rooney said.
Dupree’s second season was delayed and shortened by a sports hernia that caused him to miss the first nine games, but his performance in the 10 games he did play, including postseason, gave rise to the notion he can be the player the Steelers envisioned when they drafted him two years ago. Moats is a solid backup who can rush the passer and Chickillo showed promise as a situational player.
But the Steelers are accustomed to so much more from the position, which is why they find themselves right back where they were four years ago — still searching for that dominant player at the most important position in the 3-4 defense
Top five prospects at outside linebacker as rated by nfldraftscout,com:
Player School Yr. Ht. Wt.
Myles Garrett Texas A&M Jr. 6-5 270
Derek Barnett Tennessee Jr. 6-3 268
Tim Williams Alabama Sr. 6-4 252
Zach Cunningham Vanderbilt Jr. 6-3 230
Takkarist McKinley UCLA Sr. 6-2 258
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First Published: February 26, 2017, 5:00 a.m.
