Communication breakdowns have been the Achilles heel of an in any other case glorious protection over the previous couple of years for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The revolving door of inside linebackers has been a big a part of that difficulty. Whoever wears the inexperienced dot to discipline communication from the coaches on the sideline is successfully the quarterback of the protection, and the Steelers have had a brand new one in every of the final a number of seasons. Devin Bush Jr., Myles Jack, Cole Holcomb, Kwon Alexander, Elandon Roberts, and Patrick Queen are simply a number of the names which have donned the inexperienced dot in recent times, and that solely goes again so far as 2022.
Whereas Cole Holcomb is unlikely to earn a beginning function in a crowded ILB room, he’s completely invaluable for the Steelers to have and hold round on the roster. Why? As a result of he’s the one different participant with significant inexperienced dot expertise.
Payton Wilson exited faculty one 12 months earlier than they allowed the inexperienced dot within the NCAA, and Malik Harrison was by no means a full-time starter in Baltimore. Actually, Holcomb has extra inexperienced dot expertise than Queen, who briefly served in that function for the Ravens earlier than Roquan Smith arrived on the town after which wore it for all of 2024 in Pittsburgh. Holcomb wore it for half a season in Pittsburgh and a number of seasons earlier than that in Washington, the place he served as a crew captain in 2022.
Wilson figures to get the primary shot to begin reverse Queen this season. However no matter who the opposite starter is, Holcomb may very properly develop into the every-down inexperienced dot participant if Queen goes down with an damage. The Steelers noticed how depressing it might be in 2023 when a number of gamers (together with Holcomb) handled accidents on the place, and so they had been left and not using a defensive quarterback. They needed to simplify their scheme and calls, resulting in important points down the stretch.
It’s simple to overlook since he solely performed eight video games in Pittsburgh, however Holcomb was beginning to emerge as a really sturdy participant within the Steelers’ protection when he acquired injured. He was main the crew with 69 whole tackles on the time. He struggled within the first few video games of the season, studying a brand new protection and dealing with the inexperienced dot tasks, however he began to come back on sturdy within the few video games main as much as his damage.
With a surplus of expertise at ILB, it’s pure to marvel if someone like Holcomb may fetch a late-round choose later in camp if different groups are coping with accidents. I might contend that no late-round choose can be value as a lot to the Steelers because the insurance coverage that Holcomb offers.
