The Steelers have acquired linebacker, Joe Schobert from the Jaguars for draft compensation and lots of fans don’t know who this player is yet.
Joe Schobert has been traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was reported during the pre-season game against the Eagles but just became official recently. Schobert is joining the team after signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars via free agency. He signed a pretty lucrative deal but the reports claim that his former employer will be retaining some of the money that he is due.
That is big news for the black and gold as they continue to try and keep some cap space available for the upcoming offseason when this franchise needs to find answers across the board. It will be interesting how quickly this new addition can learn the defense and jump right in with the starters when the regular season begins.
Up to this point, it was a foregone conclusion that Robert Spillane would be the starting inside linebacker opposite of Devin Bush, but training camp has not been kind to him. Spillane had a solid stretch of games last year after Bush was gone because of a knee injury. he has shown struggles in his coverage ability. He was able to play fairly well in that department last year but it was so bad in camp and these games, that Kevin Colbert had to take a swing. He added Schobert for his coverage ability and what that will bring to this defense now and into the future. This was a shocker as the team normally doesn’t add players of Schobert’s pedigree at this point of the year but a need had to be addressed. It was a major weak point for this defensive unit and they accomplished that by bringing on this player.
Joe Schobert’s college days
Schobert was a walk-on at the University of Wisconsin. The Badgers have produced some really good linebackers at the NFL level. He was one of the first to break into the league as this school is slowly becoming a consistent NFL-producing program. This is a player that just continuously got better as he played in the collegiate ranks. His stats show his growth as the numbers during those years grew.
Schobert’s final season as a Badger was his best yet statistically before he left for the NFL. That season saw this player put up a stat line of nine and a half sacks, 76 total tackles, two fumble recoveries, one interception, and four forced fumbles. This was a disruptive player at Wisconsin and someone the NFL took notice of.
He would win the Big Ten Linebacker of the Year award before leaving for the NFL Draft. He would participate at the Senior Bowl and that helped his draft stock. Eventually, the talented player was selected in the fourth round by the Cleveland Browns. It was his first home at the next level and one he worked extremely hard to get to. A fourth-round selection on Schobert was a steal considering the production that he has put up during his time in the NFL to this point.
Before the Steelers
Joe Schobert has been one of the most consistent middle linebackers in the NFL since coming in as a rookie. His role grew in his second year as a Cleveland Brown and that is when his numbers started to takeoff. He was not mentioned as much as his star teammates and continued to fly under the radar at the NFL level. He was a pain for the Steelers to go up against twice a year.
Schobert was one of the best players on those terrible Browns teams. This player would be better off at a solid franchise but he has yet to get that experience. Schobert combined for over 100 tackles per season since 2017. That consistency is something to marvel at in this league. He also has seven interceptions and 13 pass deflections over the past two seasons alone.
This guy is something else and the Jaguars took notice of that during the 2020 offseason. They signed him to a five-year 53.75 million dollar contract. That is a lot of dough and Schobert deserved it with the type of numbers he was producing. The issue with the Jaguars is the turnover they see consistently. Since he signed the deal, a new regime has come in and wants to make changes. Trading this player to the Steelers to rid themselves of his contract was strictly for cap reasons down the line and not because this player didn’t produce for them. His fit there does not fit with the current regime either, so he was moved to the Steel City to play for the local football club.
What will he bring to the team in 2021?
One thing that has been widely reported is that Mike Tomlin likes Schobert. It makes a lot of sense to like a player that consistently puts up huge numbers for his position. This player will bring a veteran presence with tons of starting experience to a room lacking a seasoned player. Devin Bush should be coming on as a young player and having someone like Schobert will help his growth as well. Spillane could still come into the game on running downs but not much more than that. It seems more and more likely that this newly acquired player will take over the majority of the starting snaps.
The only issue with this player coming over during this time of year is if he will know the playbook enough. Luckily he has the rest of training camp and the two remaining pre-season games but it will be a quick learning curve. He will have to learn this defense fast so this team is set with him as one of the starting middle linebackers come the regular season.
It should be enough time but some players take longer than others to learn the play-calls. This is a great pickup by Kevin Colbert as he adds a solid player at the position for little expense. It will be fun to watch this player do his thing on Sundays for the Steelers.
The Steelers just added a solid linebacker to this defense. He will be an immediate impact player for this team that was searching for answers alongside Devin Bush.