Robert Spillane may not be the answer the Pittsburgh Steelers need at inside linebacker. Here’s why they should look to add a true starter next to Devin Bush.
Even with his excessive Twitter use and questionable responses to the media, the Pittsburgh Steelers have to be glad that Devin Bush is returning to the field for them this season. Bush impressed as a rookie with his ability to create splash plays and move sideline-to-sideline, but the young linebacker tore his ACL less than five full games into his second season.
Bush’s return means the team will clearly get a boost of speed at the inside linebacker position that it was desperately lacking in 2020. In his absence last year, Robert Spillane stepped into his place and performed well at times. In his first three starts, Spillane combined for 20 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, and an interception he returned for a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens.
For the most part, however, Spillane looked like a backup linebacker as he didn’t have the speed and movement skills in space to cover. This was abundantly clear in the playoff game against the Browns.
Pittsburgh lost Vince Williams to retirement and Avery Williamson to free agency. While neither linebacker was known for their coverage skills, they were better fits at the ‘Buck’ position for the Steelers. In a closing Super Bowl window, it could be advantageous of the Steelers to look for an upgrade next to Devin Bush.
Why the Steelers need an upgrade at ILB
In my assessment, Spillane is serviceable at best, but he could easily be one of the most exposed players on Pittsburgh’s defense this year if asked to play in a full-time role. The 19th percentile athletic, according to his Relative Athletic Score, doesn’t have a defining trait as he struggles in coverage and isn’t fast enough to make a lot of plays outside the hashes.
Because of the youth and inexperience behind Spillane on the roster, the Steelers are unlikely to trust any of their backups in a full-time role for the 2021 season. Neither Ulysees Gilbert nor Marcus Allen are great fits at the ‘Buck’ position that is asked to sift through traffic and go downhill.
Of the backups on the team, Buddy Johnson is the best fit with his size, physicality near the line of scrimmage, and tackling ability, but the Steelers are very unlikely to put so much on the plate of their fourth-round rookie.
In free agency, options are rather slim. However, there are still a few players who could prove to be an upgrade over Spillane this season. K.J. Wright is coming off an excellent season in which he played 1,049 defensive snaps and earned a top-10 grade at his position in the NFL last year, according to Pro Football Focus. Even at age 32, he would be an upgrade next to Bush.
Former Browns linebacker B.J. Goodson is also an option who would be a very good fit in that role for the Steelers, and bringing back Avery Williamson is even something the team could explore.
Finding a trade partner at this point in the summer is going to be much more difficult, and seems unlikely at this point.
Whatever Pittsburgh decides, it’s hard for me to be convinced that the team can’t do better than Robert Spillane playing next to Devin Bush this year. If he ultimately ends up being the player they go with, let’s hope his game takes a step forward in 2021.