3 young linebackers who could replace Vince Williams for Steelers
By Tommy Jaggi
Marcus Allen
Marcus Allen spent much of his first two NFL seasons on Pittsburgh’s practice squad, and some of his atrocious angles in preseason performances showed that he certainly wasn’t going to cut it at safety in the NFL.
The Steelers quickly transitioned him to more of a hybrid role, but last season he was strictly listed as a linebacker for the team, and that’s where he was found whenever the team did positional drills.
Like Gilbert, Allen isn’t a terrific fit as a replacement for Vince Williams, and Robert Spillane is likely to see the most action alongside Devin Bush. Still, Allen has a role to play in certain packages. Because of his experience as a former defensive back, Pittsburgh used Allen as a dime backer last year and he actually earned 206 defensive snaps on the season, according to Pro Football Reference.
Despite his tall, lean frame for a linebacker, Allen isn’t necessarily a cover guy, but he does have good speed and explosion (think of him as maybe a more inexperienced Mark Barron). He can chase to the sideline and come down and lay the wood on occasion. Allen is a physical football player who could find himself in the mix for more snaps with Vince Williams now gone.