Pittsburgh Steelers worst moves of the 2023 offseason
By Tommy Jaggi
Like most fans, I really love the offseason haul the Pittsburgh Steelers were going to rake in. Initially, this team didn't have a ton of spending money for free agency, but new general manager Omar Khan cleared some cap space and made moves to cover roster holes.
In the draft, things went as well as we possibly could have imagined. The Steelers targeted the top players on the board at important positions that just so happened to align with their needs. All in all, it was a brilliant offseason, and the team unquestionably improved on paper.
If I were to get a little bit nit-picky, I don't agree with every single decision Khan made. I give Pittsburgh an excellent score overall for a remarkably strong offseason, but here are three moves the Steelers made that I wasn't crazy about.
3. Signing LB Elandon Roberts
After wiping the slate clean at the linebacker position this offseason, I had hoped that the Pittsburgh Steelers would have done a bit more in return to beef up the position. I was a big fan of the Cole Holcomb signing, but the move for Elandon Roberts left me scratching my head.
There's no doubt that Roberts has the right mentality for Pittsburgh's defense. His hard-nosed demeanor is exactly what Mike Tomlin looks for. In terms of blitzing ability and aggressiveness in pursuit, I think the Steelers got an upgrade here.
Unfortunately, Roberts was abysmal in coverage last season. He allowed a 121.9 passer rating in coverage and surrendered 8.7 yards per attempt when thrown at. As a result, Roberts earned a 46.2 coverage grade last season, via Pro Football Focus. The film backs this up.
Knowing that Roberts is yet another linebacker who could be a liability in coverage is concerning, and the team may not have gotten any better moving from players like Myles Jack, Devin Bush, and Robert Spillane to Elandon Roberts.