Tim Benz: Failure to add OLB depth catching up to Steelers
Share this post:
The Pittsburgh Steelers set themselves up for this. They had it coming.
On Monday night when the team plays against Miami, it could be down to just one outside linebacker — Bud Dupree — with significant game experience.
Anthony Chickillo was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list because of his weekend incident at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort. So don’t look for him to play.
T.J. Watt, arguably the team’s best player so far this season, is dealing with an oblique injury that could prevent him from suiting up.
That leaves Ola Adeniyi as potentially the other starter at outside linebacker. All he has for game experience is seven appearances with four tackles over two years.
“I’m not feeling great,” head coach Mike Tomlin said about his depth at outside linebacker on Tuesday. “But such is life in the National Football League. At times you are going to be challenged positionally.”
That’s a very different tone than the one put forth after the draft when the Steelers did next to nothing to address that issue.
“We activated (Adeniyi), but he wasn’t going to be a contributor (in 2018),” general manager Kevin Colbert said in April. “I think that’ll be a difference. We always talk about players moving into their second season. We are excited about what he can do.”
Hopefully that’s true. Because — as of now — after Adeniyi, there is almost no one else to promote. Perhaps Jayrone Elliott can fill the void. But he’s been with four NFL teams — and the defunct AAF — since 2014. The Steelers have cut him twice already this season
Sacrificing numbers at that position has been a flaw the last two offseasons. The Steelers have used 22 picks since they selected Watt at the top of the 2017 draft. The only picks used on outside linebacker help have been on Sutton Smith in the sixth round this year and Keion Adams in the seventh round of 2017.
Neither remain with the club.
Maybe rookie free agent Ulysees Gilbert III can bounce outside and help in a pinch against the Dolphins. Otherwise, Dupree and Adeniyi are going to have to do all of the heavy lifting themselves.
“Being a backup, you never know what could happen,” Adeniyi said on Wednesday. “I have T.J. helping me. Little things that he may notice. He gives me tips here and there.”
Adeniyi has always been intriguing. Undrafted out of Toledo prior to the 2018 season, he has flashed in both training camps and preseasons. However, injuries and a lack of snaps have prevented him from substantively being able to show what he can do in a regular season game.
Also, by his own admission, his poor special teams play hindered the team’s willingness to dress him at times last year.
“My rookie year I was terrible on special teams,” Adeniyi admitted. “(Special teams coach) Danny Smith always had to correct me on something. So this year that was my main focus.”
Augmenting concerns is that Chickillo normally comes in for Watt on the left side of the defense and Adeniyi has seemed to be more comfortable on the right side where Dupree starts.
“As a backup, you have to be ready to play both sides. I’m ready to play both sides,” Adeniyi said.
He better be. And potentially special teams, too.
“Ola will be prepared,” Dupree said this week. “He’s going to have to get more cardio playing special teams, too. But other than that, he’s going to do well.”
Fortunately, the Steelers are facing a Dolphins offensive line that has allowed 24 sacks, the fourth-highest total in the NFL. It also blocks to the tune of only 3.3 yards per carry, the second-worst average in football. So Adeniyi isn’t exactly being thrown into the fire against the best competition in the league.
Perhaps the Steelers offense can possess the ball better than it has for most of the season to aid a defense that is also going to play without star defensive end Stephon Tuitt. He was on the road toward a Pro Bowl year before a pectoral injury ended his season in Los Angeles before the bye.
Miami only averages 26:50 of possession time per game, one of just three teams worse than the Steelers in that category.
A lack of options at the outside linebacker position isn’t just an issue for this year. It’s likely that Dupree will leave via free agency after this season. Furthermore, the Steelers don’t have a first-round pick in the upcoming draft. It was traded to the Dolphins for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in September. So the franchise may be forced to address that hole in free agency.
It’s normally costly to do so at that position.
For years both outside linebacker positions have seen a clear line of succession, usually because of great depth. Greg Lloyd passed the torch to Joey Porter who gave way to James Harrison.
From Kevin Greene to Jason Gildon to Clark Haggans to LaMarr Woodley.
And so on.
Things have become less streamlined in recent years, including Watt and Dupree switching sides of the defense.
The Steelers couldn’t foresee the specific situation they’ve been forced to deal with because of Chickillo’s discipline. And Watt’s oblique injury is bad luck.
But warning signs have existed about properly buttressing the most impactful position on the defense for a few years now, and the Steelers have chosen to frequently address other areas.
That’s a decision that could catch up with them in upcoming weeks.