Mark Barron made his NFL reputation by converting from safety to linebacker after being traded from the Buccaneers to the Rams in 2014. When the Steelers signed him at two years for $12 million, they made an important upgrade at inside linebacker.
But a closer look at his better highlights and recent play helps us understand where Barron's a good fit in Keith Butler's defense and where he is a liability:
Dale Lolley was right when he called Barron a 'hybrid' last week, because that's exactly how Barron plays. But don't mistake Barron for a player like Morgan Burnett that was supposed to play like an in-the-box safety — Barron can play as a legitimate linebacker that helps against the run and the pass.
The Steelers tried to employ Burnett as a hybrid because they had no other answers to cover the middle of the field with their inside linebackers after Ryan Shazier's injury. Barron brings that production over the middle when you look at his stats over the last three years.
Barron isn't close to where Shazier was in 2016 or 2017, but there's a clear difference between what he can do and what the rest of the Steelers' linebackers have done for the team. Shazier's stats only encompass 24 starts, while Barron has 32.
Included in the Steelers' linebacker stats are Vince Williams, L.J. Fort, Tyler Matakevich and Jon Bostic to show who Butler has had to work with at the position in recent years. Even with their combined stats while on the Steelers' roster in 37 starts between them, their production against the pass is less than Barron's stats alone.
But to understand why Barron has those numbers, you have to watch how he plays. Here he is late last season covering Cardinals' running back Chase Edmonds out of the backfield to the sideline. Notice how he trails Edmonds and locates the football to break up the play, reaching his hand to the exact spot where Josh Rosen has to throw:
Fort was the Steelers' best cover linebacker in 2018 because of his athleticism and ability to work against shifty receivers in underneath coverage. But he lacked the natural ball skills and the command of the defense to be a true field general at inside linebacker.
Barron's ball skills present a threat the Steelers haven't had outside of Shazier. Though he didn't record any interceptions in 2018, he had five between 2016-2017. Watch how comfortable Barron is in his drop into coverage. He not only maintains his zone assignment but he makes a solid two-handed stab at the ball for the pick:
Barron's most obvious weakness is his lack of natural strength when engaging offensive linemen. He's a wily veteran that knows several ways to disengage with attacking linemen, but there are times when that cannot be overcome.
Here's a brief example where Barron matches up with tackle Ryan Ramczyk and is controlled at the second level. While Ndamukong Suh stuffs the play, Barron was unable to keep his frame clean from Ramczyk:
That will become a problem when the Steelers face some of the better guards in the league that excel against linebackers like the Ravens' Marshal Yanda. Ramczyk was rated as the No. 6 offensive linemen by Pro Football Focus in 2018 and is a good example of what Barron will be up against.
While that is a weakness for Barron, it's not a factor that intimidates him from doing his job. His experience in the NFL has brought developed fundamental skills to work around his weakness and properly engage/disengage with offensive linemen.
Watch how he works against center Weston Richburg on this 49ers' sweep. Barron properly reads the right-lead zone blocking scheme and when Richburg tries to engage, he uses his inside hand to get inside Richburg's frame and create the proper distance so he can maintain his path to the ball.
Though Aaron Donald is already making the tackle, this play is a good example of how Barron can be aware of scheme he faces while taking on opponents:
An even better look is how he dispatched the Saints' now-retired center, Max Unger, in the NFC championship game. When Unger approaches Barron, he's met with a quick jab to his chest, allowing Barron to keep shuffling his feet to the hole and make the tackle on Mark Ingram:
These are the important plays that Barron can immediately make for the Steelers. His ability to shed blockers by keeping his frame free combines well with his comfort playing gap-to-gap assignments against the run.
Bostic brought a boost to the Steelers' run defense in 2018 by being solid with gap assignments in between the tackles, but Barron's tape shows a better linebacker when it comes to engaging blockers and working through them to his assignment.
Combine Barron's technique against the run with his ability to cover, and he's an immediate help to the Steelers' biggest need in the 2019 offseason. But there's no overlooking the fact that he's not the supreme playmaker that can change games the way Shazier did.
The Steelers still need to find a player that can roam the middle of the field and present a constant coverage threat to quarterbacks. Barron is just the insurance policy in case they aren't able to find that player in the 2019 NFL draft.