Mike's Beer Bar War Room: How to replace Holcomb, Alexander?

Two weeks ago, the Steelers lost Cole Holcomb to injury for the season. On Sunday against Green Bay, Kwon Alexander was also lost for the season after just nine snaps of play. 

Losing starting players in the NFL for the year is always very difficult. But losing them in clusters at a specific position is something that general managers just cannot prepare for.

The trio of Holcomb, Alexander and Elandon Roberts were all very welcome additions, especially considering the minimal investments these three were to acquire and what the Steelers were playing with on the second level in 2022. Not only did Holcomb, Alexander and Roberts make far more splash plays than last year’s group, but their down-to-down consistency and versatility was also really paying off for the Steelers' defense.

Now that is in flux. 

Alexander is an athletic, run-and-hit linebacker that covers a lot of ground. He has explosive traits and can shine in the passing game. Roberts also has explosive traits, but much more so as a downhill thumper that really brings the lumber in the run game and as a blitzer. Alexander and Roberts are very different, which worked well since Holcomb was a combination of the two.

Holcomb was an every-down player, and when paired with Alexander, the Steelers' second level was well equipped to face passing teams and offenses with extreme speed. When the situation called for more size and power, Holcomb could team with Roberts. Taking Holcomb out of the equation was a blow for sure, but the combination of Alexander and Roberts was still an acceptable pairing.

Now, the Steelers just have the bigger, heavier guy and a bunch of question marks on the second level of their defense. 

Mark Robinson is in the equation, but he was a year away from being a year away when the Steelers drafted him in the seventh round of the 2022 draft. Mostly a special teams player in his second season (only Nick Herbig has played more snaps on special teams), Robinson was forced into action for 41 defensive snaps against the Packers. 

Including his preseason snaps, when Robinson is on the field, you know it. But that can be good or bad. A running back-turned-linebacker, Robinson flies around the field with reckless abandon. He attacks. But, he often attacks in the wrong direction or with little play recognition. The Steelers' coaching staff will do everything possible to get Robinson ready for a much larger role, but expect a great deal of mistakes with some splash plays sprinkled in. 

Keep an eye on Robinson here. He flies upfield like a man possessed and crashes into the Packers lead blocker. But the problem? He allows AJ Dillon to run right past him for a huge gain of 40 yards. If you take this run out of the equation, the Steelers would have held the combination of Dillon and Aaron Jones to just 65 rushing yards on 21 carries.  

The Steelers could promote Mykel Walker off their practice squad. Walker is 26 years old and was drafted in the fourth round by the Falcons in 2020. Since being waived by Atlanta in August, Walker has been with the Bears and Raiders before signing with the Steelers a few weeks ago. He is tall with good length and some straight-line speed, but lacks the bulk and power to log a lot of snaps, and is stiff, clunky and mechanical in his movements.

That being said, Walker did play 769 snaps for the Falcons last season and was very average at best in all facets of linebacker play. He could be worth a try for the Steelers going forward:

Here is a package of Walker’s highlights last year with the Falcons. Maybe there is something to mine here, particularly on a part-time basis, but let’s not get too excited after just watching highlights. 

Tariq Carpenter was also active for the Steelers this past week, but for special teams reasons. He was a seventh-round pick by the Packers in 2022 as a safety to linebacker convert. Carpenter has the makeup to cover running backs and tight ends well, and was an excellent tester at his Pro Day. But overall, Carpenter profiles as a special teamer and, like Robinson, is very much a work in progress as a reliable linebacker. He played 10 special teams snaps on Sunday, but none with the defense despite that dire situation after Alexander’s injury. 

That doesn’t leave a lot of current options. And of course, the Steelers will scan every team’s practice squad for options, as well as unemployed linebacker veterans. Again, that isn’t overly appealing. But who knows, maybe there is someone serviceable out there to grab. Unfortunately, the trade deadline has come and gone. 

One thing to look at though is the usage of Keanu Neal. Minkah Fitzpatrick is expected to return possibly as soon as this upcoming game in Cleveland -- and wow, was he missed against the Packers. Fitzpatrick puts out fires. He and Damontae Kazee will be just fine as the starting safeties, and Elijah Riley has done some good things, including his play on Sunday, in a Steelers uniform. Riley should handle the third safety role well enough. 

Therefore, a move to make is moving Neal full time to linebacker. The former first-round pick has always done his best work near the line of scrimmage and profiles well as the dime linebacker, something he has done plenty of over his eight-year career. Neal has excellent safety size and enough physicality to handle the majority of his snaps in the box. 

In a Steelers uniform, Neal has played 178 snaps aligned in the box, including 21 against Green Bay. He’s aligned in the slot for 108 snaps and as a deep safety for 102, a role he doesn’t excel at. Neal has aligned on the defensive line for 22 plays and as an outside cornerback 20 times. But playing in the box is Neal’s best spot. 

This is a great play by Patrick Peterson, and being in the right place at the right time for Neal. But as linebackers go, Neal should handle coverage on the second level of the defense well. 

Compared to other NFL defenses, the Steelers play a high percentage of their base personnel with four defensive backs and two off-ball linebackers on the field, and a high percentage in their dime package with six defensive backs and just one linebacker. They are not a high-percentage nickel defense, with two linebackers. In base, Roberts will certainly be one of the two off-ball players, and the Steelers could rotate Neal with Robinson, Walker or a player to be named later. In dime, that single linebacker spot should now entirely belong to Neal. 

Folks, this is far from ideal. And to be frank, Neal hasn’t been overly impressive with the Steelers, and shouldn’t be looked at as a long-term answer in any capacity. But the NFL presents major problems time and time again throughout the course of a season, and no one cares that a team can get stuck between a rock and a hard place. They will just have to make do and get better play from their defensive front, as well as from the secondary with Fitzpatrick back in the mix to overcome these worrisome issues at linebacker.