On the first snap of team drills during Tuesday’s Pittsburgh Steelers training camp practice, Kwon Alexander shot the gap and tackled running back Najee Harris for a loss.
During the final team period of the 2 ½-hour practice, Alexander was deployed in the dime package and used in coverage.
Finding an inside linebacker capable of excelling at stopping the run and providing reliability in coverage has vexed the Steelers for years. Could they finally have found a quality three-down linebacker by the most unusual of means — the after-camp-begins signing?
“I feel like I fit in real well here,” Alexander said after a recent practice at Saint Vincent College. “I feel like everything happens for a reason. I came here with a purpose to go out there and get at it, so that’s what I am gonna do.”
Alexander was the final of five veteran free-agent inside linebackers the Steelers brought in between March in July to pull off what was a near-total makeover of the position room. The one year, $1.32-million contract Alexander signed July 30 pales in comparison to the deals given to Cole Holcomb ($18 million over three years) and Elandon Roberts (two years, $7 million).
But Alexander arguably has been the best inside linebacker during training camp. He almost assuredly has been the most noticeable because of his quick-twitch burst and an affinity for hard hitting.
“He is an aggressive player,” defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. “He’s quick. He’s quick to key and trigger, and that’s a good thing. So we will just continue to work him and get him more comfortable with the things that we are doing, and we will I think see more improvement from him.”
New team now, but Kwon Alexander still lays out the Hit-stick ????pic.twitter.com/tjwPJPabVThttps://t.co/4B9PTrKa4x
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) August 11, 2023
Twelve days after signing with the Steelers, Alexander played 23 snaps during Friday’s preseason game at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On the third play of the game, Alexander dropped Bucs running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn for a 1-yard gain on third-and-2.
During the next defensive series, Alexander dropped Vaughn for a 1-yard loss.
The defensive series after that, Alexander shot the gap to tackle Vaughn 2 yards behind the line of scrimmage, but Alexander was flagged for unnecessary roughness.
While the Steelers certainly do not want to be giving out 15 free yards like that, Alexander’s burst and nose for making plays was put on display. But according to Pro Football Focus charting, Alexander also was used in coverage more than any non-defensive back on the team against Tampa Bay (12 snaps). Every time the Bucs passed when Alexander was on the field, Alexander was used in coverage. He allowed two receptions for 14 yards.
That type of versatility to excel against the run and pass suggests the profile of a three-down linebacker, the type of player who rarely is available after camps open.
“He’s doing great for us. That’s all I care about now,” Austin said. “He moves, he’s quick, he’s decisive. He adds some suddenness and some spunk to that room.”
It has been six years and five teams played for since Alexander was bestowed Pro Bowl honors. Over the four seasons that immediately followed, Alexander missed 27 games because of injuries ranging from a torn ACL to a torn pectoral to a torn Achilles and an elbow ailment.
Finally, last year with the New York Jets, Alexander appeared in every game of a season.
Over 12 practices with the Steelers, Alexander has at times been used in the base, nickel, dime and “big nickel” packages. He seems to take first-team reps at least as often as Roberts or Holcomb.
Elandon Roberts on fellow new veteran Steelers ILB Kwon Alexander pic.twitter.com/te3hoVSazp
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) August 16, 2023
“He’s doing a very good job (assimilating),” Roberts said. “He got in late in the process, and he’s done a great job of getting adapted to what we do defensively and communicating with us well and stuff like that, and when he’s getting his opportunities, he’s making the best of them.”
With 3 ½ weeks until the regular season opens, the division of labor could continue to shake itself out. But the way things have trended since Alexander arrived, it wouldn’t be surprising if Alexander plays a starter’s-caliber share of snaps.
But no matter how much Alexander plays, eyes will be drawn to him when he’s on the field.
“That’s just me, I play with energy,” he said. “That’s what I am gonna come with. That’s what I have been doing my whole career. It ain’t gonna change. That’s what I come out there with, an aggression and to hit people. And to make them feel me any time I hit them.”
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