Pittsburgh Steelers could play a lot of base 3-4 defense in 2021

The Pittsburgh Steelers will be looking to get their best defensive lineup on the field often in 2021. Here’s why we could see a heavy dose of their base 3-4. 

In a year where the salary cap was a real issue, the Steelers did their best to make sure they had a competitive roster returning to the football field in 2021. Despite losing a number of competent starters on both sides of the ball this offseason, Pittsburgh did a solid job filling holes in both the draft and late in free agency.

While not every draft pick or free agent signing is going to work out as planned for the Steelers, it’s clear they improved the depth at several positions that were weak in 2020. However, even with some of their acquisitions, there are still a few positions with big question marks.

Cornerback is one of them. After losing Mike Hilton and Steven Nelson this offseason, Pittsburgh did nothing to address the position this offseason outside of signing a low-profile nickel defensive back in Arthur Maulet.

There are a number of questions when it comes to the cornerback position. Antoine Brooks was recently released after not being able to stay healthy. Even if Jame Pierre or Justin Layne steps up to the plate for the team this season, depth is still a serious issue, and Pittsburgh could be one injury away from having a huge hole in their secondary.

For this reason, the Steelers could look to deploy more of their base 3-4 defense than they did in 2020. Pittsburgh’s base defense consists of five players along the defensive line, which includes two outside linebackers and three interior defenders. Here’s how their starting base defense could look in 2021:

Steelers base defense gives them their best lineup

With the recent addition of former Pro Bowl linebacker, Joe Schobert, it’s hard to argue that Pittsburgh’s base 3-4 defense doesn’t give them the best lineup. Obviously, the Steelers need to consider the scenario (down and distance), but on paper, there are very few weak links in this group.

The guys up front could prove to be the best collective unit in the league, and it’s nearly impossible to get a successful run game going with players like Stephon Tuitt, Cameron Heyward, and Tyson Alualu all on the field at the same time. Likewise, T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith could prove to be a lethal combination in 2021, while Joe Schobert and Devin Bush could be a big step up from what the Steelers had last year at the linebacker position.

The difference between Pittsburgh’s base 3-4 defense, as opposed to their nickel defense, is having one additional defensive lineman instead of a defensive back. While this makes the lineup slower and potentially worse in coverage, it gives them a better run defense unit.

The problem with running nickel or dime this year is that these lineups require Pittsburgh to take quality players off the field in favor of inexperienced and unproven defensive backs.

For example, switching from base to nickel will essentially be swapping out Tyson Alualu for one of either James Pierre. Switching from base to dime means that you are likely taking both Alualu and Schobert (or maybe even Bush) off the field to add two extra defensive backs (a possible combination of two of Pierre, Brooks, or Arthur Maulet).

Depending on factors like down, distance, and opponent, it’s certainly necessary to have nickel and dime packages to stop opposing passing games. However, Pittsburgh’s most talented lineup – the one that includes their 11-best defenders on the field – will come in their base 3-4 defense this year. It will be interesting to see how often they try to deploy this look.