2019 NFL Draft: A case for the Steelers to not draft an inside linebacker in the first round
Everyone wants the Steelers to trade the farm to pick an ILB in the upcoming draft. But what if them avoiding this would be beneficial?
By F. S. "Flip" Fisher Apr 15, 2019
No doubt many of the BTSC faithful will be shocked at reading this headline and seeing the article comes from me. I have thundered the boards for years for the Pittsburgh Steelers to draft an inside linebacker high in the draft. General manager Kevin Colbert keeps dashing my hopes year after year and the Steelers defense pays the price. Tight ends, running backs and slot wideouts keep getting easy yardage against the Steelers poor covering inside linebackers.
So what has changed? The situation with the Steelers current inside linebacker crew, and it is not because I love them.
Inside linebacker Ryan Shazier, after struggling early in his career in coverage, was finally rounding the corner when he was hurt in 2017. His paired mate at linebacker, Vince Williams, has always been a liability in coverage and was torn to shreds last season. Pittsburgh asked Williams to play over 80% of the snaps in seven of the 14 games he played in.
Jon Bostic and L.J. Fort played their fair share of coverage snaps and neither was consistent enough to be counted upon. Bostic remains in a backup role, while Fort has moved on.
Rolling into 2019, the Los Angeles Rams cap casualty, Mark Barron looks to solidify the inside linebacker role. While his recent Pro Football Focus grades and tape are ugly, his salary should prohibit Pittsburgh from sitting him in 2019 or cutting him or having him as a backup in 2020. Just like Williams, The duo may end up being the starters, through thick and thin the next two seasons.
Even if one of the Devins are available at pick No. 20, which most “draft experts” do not think will happen, how does Colbert justify restructuring Williams and signing Barron to deals that make them too expensive to be backups in 2019 and too expensive to cut?
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