Coming into last season, Tyler Matakevich was the guy who looked like he could improve his standing with the Steelers despite being a seventh-round draft pick in his rookie season after winning the camp battle to make the depth chart. There weren't any indications he would be considered for a starting bid, but when the Steelers didn't add another inside linebacker before camp, he became the immediate backup behind Vince Williams and Ryan Shazier.
We talked about his work as a rookie last year, what his merits were and where he needed to improve. And while he's still a third-year player who was selected in the seventh round, the Steelers need more from Matakevich to justify even considering giving him a chance to start.
Matakevich has made his best plays on special teams. Early in the season he was on fire with a blocked punt against the Browns on the first defensive possession of the season and then a key pass defensed on a fake punt the next week against the Vikings.
Matakevich isn't particularly fast or strong, so his best plays come from being aware and staying in position to make a play. That's how he stopped the Vikings' fake punt, when he latched on to Blake Bell, who tried to leak out to the flat for an easy pass. The former leading tackler for the Temple Owls got his hands on the tight end without grabbing and made a good play on the ball by swatting it away:
Matakevich is a hustle player, just like he was at Temple. Most of his best plays come from him seeing a play and being able to chase it down on the back end rather than winning at the point of attack.
Here he is coming off a failed blitz against the Chiefs and chasing down Kareem Hunt on a short pass. Notice how he never gains any ground in his rush, but when he sees the play, he's able to chase down Hunt, wrap up his legs and finish the play:
That's what I like the most about Matakevich; his head is almost always up and he's looking for where he can make a play.
But the list of problems Matakevich has to improve upon includes when he's in a one-on-one situation to hold down a gap or close down space in the middle of the field. He displays an understanding of which gap he's supposed to protect, but he doesn't combine that with the aggressive attack or general ability to overpower players in the hole.
Here he is with a chance to close down the space on Joe Mixon against Tyler Kroft, and while Matakevich is able to mind the hole and eventually trip Mixon up, he gives up 9 yards because he's getting driven down the field by a tight end:
Part of that comes from Matakevich's hesitating style of play to ensure he covers his gap. That's why so many of his tackles come when he's chasing down a player or piling on a tackle that's already being made. Watch how he's the last guy to get to the ball to stop Hunt on this play; while he's the designed linebacker to sit back and provide support, this was one of his two tackles from scrimmage that kept a play shorter than a 5-yard gain all season (the other was the tackle of Hunt we displayed above):
It's obvious that Matakevich wants to contribute more, but he has realistic limitations as an athlete that prevent him from shooting gaps and scraping down the line to catch players multiple gaps away. When compensating for that, sometimes a player will forfeit other responsibilities, like Matakevich did when the Steelers surrendered a red zone touchdown pass to the Bears.
Watch how hard he bites on the play action, leaving the tight end wide open for the score:
If Matakevich is going to be a starter, or even an immediate contributor as a backup, the Steelers will need him to be more than the hustle body he has been. If he can improve at winning at the point of attack, changing the line of scrimmage and finding ways to control gaps in the offensive line, that will go a long way to showing the Steelers he is ready to contribute against the run.
Speed-wise, Matakevich is a given liability in coverage. So if he's going to find a place to make his name, it's going to be as the backup thumper style of linebacker to what Williams brings over the middle. He'll need to show a good amount of progress to get to that point in 2018.