Carter's Classroom: Alualu last piece to 2017 defensive line

The Steelers' signing of Tyson Alualu solidified the depth of their defensive line. Alualu is a former first round selection of the Jaguars that never lived up to the hype of being the tenth overall pick in his class.

His 17.5 sacks over seven seasons weren't nearly enough to keep him in an organization that continues to struggle to develop any consistency on either side of the ball.

So why would the Steelers want to bring an underachieving defensive lineman onto their roster? Probably because Alualu's value is the perfect mix of experience to plug and play without the expensive price tag.

The Steelers already have a good group at defensive line, so we dip into the film on Alualu to see how he might mesh with the Steelers:



Alualu is a 6' 3" 304 lbs defensive end that can switch between being the interior defensive lineman in the nickel or the defensive end in a 3-4 front. Coming out of California, Alualu had the reputation of an undersized hard worker that could be strong enough to combat in the NFL.

What worked against him was that his strength never translated to the NFL. Alualu is a player that mixes skills of a player that could be an edge rusher but is not explosive enough to be a consistent pass rusher and not strong enough to be a consistent defensive tackle.

PASS RUSH STYLE

The move that Alualu employs for most of his sacks is a traditional edge rush where he works against the outside shoulder of his opponent, pushing through them until they give way and he has a shot at the quarterback.

Watch how he works to get Andrew Luck here. He puts his inside hand to the outside shoulder of the tackle and keeps the outside arm free to attack once he gets around the edge:



This is an example of how Alualu aims to get after the quarterback on most plays, even when he's lined to the inside.

Watch this stunt blitz to see what I mean, as he crosses the face of the center to perform a sort of edge rush, but in the A-gap:



This is nice, but he needs more moves in his repertoire to be a starter that can play on consistent passing downs. He takes advantage of linemen with lazy feet, but when linemen perform their fundamentals, Alualu rarely exhibits an extra move to beat his opponent.

HAS FIELD AWARENESS

The biggest asset I see Alualu bringing to the depth of the Steelers' line is his experience. Alualu has been in the league as long as Maurkice Pouncey and has shown the ability to read plays.

Watch how he sniffs out the Colts' screen here, a play that has hurt the Steelers in recent years. He twists from the edge into A-gap, but is able to reverse his pace and get back to chase down Frank Gore.



Having a knowledgeable guy in their depth is good, which gives them five players they could comfortably rotate around the defensive line in Cameron Heyward, Stephon Tuitt, Javon Hargrave, L.T. Walton, and now Alualu.

AGAINST THE RUN

The biggest success that Alualu has against the run is when he's matched up against undersized players, specifically tight ends. Here you can see him set the edge against a tight end and shed through his man to tackle LeSean McCoy:



This is a solid job, but what concerns me is how he does when facing offensive tackles and guards at the point of attack, as both Heyward and Tuitt do on a regular basis.

GETS PUT ON SKATES

Here's where I am skeptical about what Alualu can bring to the table, as you see him driven five yards down the field by a tight end:



Part of this problem might be negated by the more limited amount of snaps he will be needed for, allowing him to focus more and have him keep fresh legs when he's on the field.

It's a big reason why Alualu could not become a consistent factor for the Jaguars, as he could not be the reliable roadblock that took on double teams consistently or changed the line of scrimmage when he faced the run.

OVERALL

Alualu is essentially a defensive lineman that looks for the block shed to get after the ball-carrier. He's not as much the guy that will take on two offensive linemen and help clear up the path for linebackers to have a clean look at the backfield.

That's acceptable though considering that the Steelers already have four guys they can count on for just that. Alualu is an acquisition that brings experience should the Steelers run into the same issue they did last season when both Heyward and Tuitt were out due to injury. Having Alualu with Walton and Hargrave would make for a solid secondary group as the three-man front in their traditional defense.