About this time in 2019, the Pittsburgh Steelers were finishing up an eight-month process of spending four draft picks and $13.45 million in guaranteed money into fortifying the inside linebacker position.

A year after those investments, the Steelers still seem to have work to do at the position.

The release of Mark Barron and the departure of Tyler Matakevich in free agency last month leave the Steelers with Devin Bush and Vince Williams atop their inside linebacker depth chart, with only unproven 2019 sixth-round pick Ulysees Gilbert and journeyman Robert Spillane behind them.

The Steelers did not add an inside linebacker in unrestricted free agency. They didn’t even go the reserve/future route or rummage through the XFL-castoff bin to add depth. That suggests a near-certainty an inside linebacker or two will be added by the end of this week, be it via one of the team’s six draft picks or in the undrafted free-agent market after the draft ends Saturday.

“We’re real comfortable with Vince Williams and Devin Bush,” general manager Kevin Colbert said. “Could we add some depth? Sure. Ulysees Gilbert was coming along as a special-teams contributor until he unfortunately suffered a back injury that ended his season. He was showing good promise to be a contributor at some point.

“We’ll look at adding where it’s appropriate depending on who is available and when.”

Bush did nothing as a rookie last season to show that he wasn’t worth trading second- and third-round picks to move up into the top 10 to select him last April. But while Barron was adequate after signing for $6.75 million guaranteed, the Steelers viewed the cap space saved by releasing him more valuable than keeping him for a second season.

The Steelers gave Williams a three-year, $18.6 million contract in August 2018, but he played only 36.5% of the team’s defensive snaps last season. With Barron gone and no replacement signed, presumably the only way Williams is not an everydown player at age 30 in 2020 is if the Steelers draft an inside linebacker.

That is something, though, teams should do while proceeding with caution.

“The (inside) linebacker group is not real strong this year,” said longtime former Dallas Cowboys executive and SiriusXM NFL Radio draft analyst Gil Brandt.

In the increasingly hybrid sport, it is difficult to define the type of player the Steelers could target. Barron was once considered a safety.

If the Steelers opted for a more traditional, strong-tackling inside linebacker, NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said there is a good fit for a team picking around 50th overall. (The Steelers’ top choice is at No. 49).

“I think that’s a great spot if you wanted to get a linebacker,” Jeremiah said on a conference call last week. “A guy like Jordyn Brooks from Texas Tech, who can fly.”

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) September 3, 2018

If the Steelers waited a round or two, there is an LSU linebacker they could target. No, not Patrick Queen — he’ll be long gone by then. But Tigers teammate Jacob Phillips has the look of an intriguing, high-floor prospect and has the pedigree of a productive player for a national championship team.

“For a mid-round linebacker, that’s exactly who you’re looking for,” said former Tampa Bay Buccaneers executive and SiriusXM NFL Radio analyst Mark Dominik.

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