My biggest question mark about the Steelers' offseason stems from their decision to not address their depth at inside linebacker. While not acquiring a top-of-the-line starter who could play over Vince Williams is a defensible stance, not getting anyone as a backup behind Williams is a decision which could come back to haunt them.
Behind Williams are Steven Johnson, L.J. Fort and Tyler Matakevich. Matakevich is the youngest of the group, having just finished his rookie season. He earned his way onto the roster despite being a seventh-round pick in 2016 who faced tall odds to get any playing time.
The only significant time Matakevich had on the field during the season was when he came in to replace Williams in the Steelers' early-season matchup with the Dolphins. He played next to Lawrence Timmons for much of the second half as both Williams and Ryan Shazier were unavailable.
As it stands, that will be the same deal that the Steelers face throughout this season, just with Shazier being the linebacker next to Williams instead of Timmons, who ironically is now with the Dolphins.
That should raise some red flags.
The Steelers' 3-4 scheme and sub-packages work better when their inside linebackers have enough speed and quickness to bounce between gaps and cover underneath receiving threats.
Shazier fits that profile in spades and Williams is adequate, but the bill on Matakevich has been that he's a tad bit slower than what most NFL teams would like to keep up with today's faster offenses.
What the second-year player out of Temple does have on his side is that he's a solid form tackler. Whenever he squares his shoulders with someone, he stands a very solid chance of making a fundamental tackle to end the play, or at least slow up his opponent enough for his teammates to finish the job.
He doesn't go for the flashier big hits, but that's also because those hits usually come from players who possess the explosiveness that we have yet to see from Matakevich.
His nose for the ball is a natural instinct which gets him opportunities to make plays. That showed when he had six tackles and two assists in his limited time against the Dolphins last season.
One thing I like is how Matakevich usually tries to keep his shoulders parallel with the line and takes his time to execute the proper technique when the ball comes his way.
Watch how he scrapes down the line here, following the flow of the play, and uses Javon Hargrave as his barometer of where to attack:
Matakevich jumped outside of Hargrave when Jay Ajayi went there, but was ready for the cutback because he never overplayed his position and remained poised at the line of scrimmage. This is where Matakevich's game is strongest, as he can play downhill and not have to overextend himself to chase people and rely on only covering one or two gaps.
However, he still has a lot left to develop, especially understanding when to attack and when not to. The poise that he exhibited in the previous play can often be mistaken for hesitance as he tries to figure out his role in a given play.
Let's look at a few plays later on that same drive when Matakevich was playing five yards off the ball with a clear look at the line of scrimmage. His eyes look to be trained on those of Ajayi, whose counter slows down Matakevich enough for the play to work. Watch the left guard come up through the hole and attack Matakevich:
If Matakevich read his keys correctly, which in this case would have involved watching the movement of the three interior linemen, he would have recognized the guard pulling into the C-gap.
If he recognized it at the right time, the proper reaction would be to close down into the hole and attack the pulling guard at the line of scrimmage so that his lane is clogged and Ajayi has to look elsewhere to gain his yards.
But rookie mistakes like this in their first games are to be expected. Hopefully Matakevich has watched enough film, and will continue to put in the work to solidify his game so that he can make better judgment calls this season.
What also worries me about Matakevich is if he gets called in to play when the Steelers get in key passing downs. Opposing offenses will most likely look to get solo matchups between him and any of their faster third-down running backs in open space.
Matakevich lacks the speed or quickness to run with players or play aggressively at all in the passing game, so he will often be asked to play soft zone coverages like this one below.
On this play Matakevich does a solid job on closing in on his target and making a solid tackle short of the first down. But against other teams, this could become a regular play call if Matakevich ends up being a starter due to injury:
Ultimately, Matakevich makes his living in the NFL because he's a solid tackle machine who will bring down anyone he gets his arms around. But he's not an explosive hitter, not a cover linebacker, nor a player who you can trust to run sideline to sideline on longer stretch runs.
Having him as their best option behind Shazier and Williams could quickly become a liability that puts a hole in the defense. But in his second year, eyes will certainly be trained on Matakevich to see just how much he has improved and if he can become a solid 'buck' inside linebacker option for the future.
If Matakevich underperforms in training camp and the preseason, look for the Steelers to try to bring in help to address their depth situation at one of the defense's most important positions.