Javon Hargrave isn’t as big of a loss to the Steelers as you think
By Mike Pelaia
As free agency began, the Steelers lost nose tackle, Javon Hargrave. While they would have liked to keep him around, he’s very replaceable.
As free agency began, the Steelers, expectedly, lost nose tackle Javon Hargrave to their cross-state rival, the Philadelphia Eagles. Hargrave signed a three year, $39 million dollar deal to head east. And good for him. He’s earned it.
Yet, there shouldn’t be an uproar of concern over losing the 27-year-old Hargrave who spent the first four years of his career in Pittsburgh. While Hargrave did grade out as one of the best nose tackles in 2019, according to Pro Football Focus, there’s not an irreplaceable difference between him and the “next man up” that Mike Tomlin will find to fill the 305-pound hole that Hargrave leaves behind.
Hargrave did post 60 tackles, which was a career-high, to go along with four sacks, but that ranked him 8th in the league for DT/NT in tackles and tied for 14th in sacks. To put some of this into perspective, Maliek Collins of Dallas, who ranked 149th in the league in tackles with 20, was tied with Hargrave in sacks with four.
I will admit that what Hargrave brings to the table goes beyond the numeric statistics that we can easily source. He brings a playmaking ability to a defensive line that can stuff the run and change an offensive game plan. That’s why the Eagles paid him.
Yet, with guys like Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt on the end and the linebacking corps looking to be even better in 2020, now that Bud Dupree was franchised, the loss of Hargrave is not devastating.
The Steelers can look internally at Tyson Alualu if need be or perhaps Isaiah Buggs who played big-time football at Alabama before his rookie campaign in Pittsburgh last year.
Both guys know the defensive scheme, can play and can do a good job of filling in some of the gaps left behind by Hargrave.
Yet, the Steelers don’t have to settle on either man. They could approach the position as early as the second round of the draft or sign a veteran free agent that may not create a massive hit on the salary cap.
There are still several free agents out there who make a lot of sense here. He’s young, he’s good against the run and he’ll come with an affordable price tag that the black and gold can manage. If the price is right, players like Ndamukong Suh, Mike Daniels, Dontari Poe, and Damon Harrison come to mind. They are all players capable of stuffing the run and he won’t cost nearly as much as they once did. Plug any of these guys in with the rest of this Steel Curtain and you have a very stout unit.
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No matter what the Steelers do, they’ll be fine. Hargrave will be missed, but if he was a guy they couldn’t afford to lose, they wouldn’t have let him go so easily. You can bet that Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin have a plan, but you can also bet you’ll need to be patient to learn what that is.