5 best Pittsburgh Steelers players entering the early bye week
By Tommy Jaggi
2. Tyson Alualu
Who would have thought that this guy would be playing as we as he has in the early portions of the season? Entering Pittsburgh’s premature Week 4 bye, Tyson Alualu has been phenomenal – earning a sack, 3 tackles for a loss, and 3 quarterback hits on just 46 percent of defensive snaps.
As a result, Alualu is currently the number one rated interior defensive lineman, according to Pro Football Focus. His 91.3 overall grade tops even the great Aaron Donald so far this year. While it probably won’t be this way by season’s end, it’s encouraging to see how well the 11-year veteran is playing at this point in his career.
Many Steelers fans and analysts were worried this past offseason about what the Steelers would do at nose tackle. Javon Hargrave took a massive contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, and he had proven to be a solid player in Pittsburgh. Alualu is playing even better. The former first-round pick is having one of the best seasons of his NFL career. While Alualu may come back down to earth eventually, his run defense and pass-rushing efficiency have been excellent so far.