No ‘messing’ around: Marcus Allen kept working, carved out niche with Steelers

Marcus Allen grinned widely and chuckled.

The Pittsburgh Steelers third-year defender answered in the affirmative, confirming what coach Mike Tomlin likes to say to Allen as he passes his locker, indeed, is not “mess with me.”

The “mess” in “mess with” — a reference to an encounter they had during Allen’s rookie season — is the edited, sanitized, family-friendly version.

It has been Allen’s play in recent weeks that has helped clean up a potential mess that could have resulted from injuries among the Steelers’ linebackers and secondary.

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Allen has seen more playing time as a hybrid linebacker in passing situations in the absence of Devin Bush and Mike Hilton. For Allen, a 2018 fifth-round pick out of Penn State, his emergence has been a long time coming.

“I feel as though I am still getting better at it week by week,” Allen said of his role in the dime package, particularly in last week’s win against the Cincinnati Bengals. “I am learning more within the position, and I am just excited just to see how to become better and better each week. I love the opportunity I have right now.”

A day after being added to the 53-man roster for the first time this season, rookie Antoine Brooks played extensively during the win. #CINvsPIT https://t.co/BOSD0o8wIn

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) November 16, 2020

Allen had precious little opportunity over his first two seasons, appearing in just three games and playing a total of 37 snaps (18 on defense, 19 on special teams) in 2018-19. A 3½-year starter at strong safety in college who served as co-captain as a senior, Allen was even cut at the end of his second training camp and spent most of last season on the practice squad.

His Steelers career appeared to be teetering this past offseason when in August the team moved him to inside linebacker.

Allen has been drilling with the inside linebackers and joins them in meeting room. Functionally, though, the dime position Allen has focused on is a matter of semantics.

According to Pro Football Focus, half of Allen’s 20 defensive snaps played last week came “in the box.” He had one solo tackle and one assist and allowed two catches for 18 yards in coverage.

“Marcus has a skill set that lends itself to those with environmental things,” Tomlin said. “He is a good blitzer. He can run really good for the linebacker position. He is a good coverage guy for the linebacker position. His attributes have been an asset to us in that area.”

It’s a niche Allen can fill after being little more than a scout-team safety over his first two years in the NFL. It had become clear Allen’s future was not as a starting safety with the Steelers. They had promoted an unheralded former Alliance of American Football player (Kameron Kelly) over him, traded for an established star (Minkah Fitzpatrick) and rarely even put Allen in uniform.

But that doesn’t mean Allen felt the Steelers had given up on him.

“(Tomlin) was always in my ear,” Allen said, “basically saying ‘Just keep working. The opportunity can come at any second. Just stay on it every day and never take a day off.’ “

Allen ingratiated himself to Tomlin during the final two preseason games of his rookie season with his play and his attitude. Allen had a combined 11 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble in those two games. Late in one of them, an encounter with Tomlin made an impression that reverberates today.

“I was making plays, (so) I said, ‘Mess with me, mess with me,’ ” Allen said. “And that’s something that he always says, going past me in the locker room, ‘C’mon, mess with me, let’s go!’

“That’s something that’s stuck with me. I always want that ‘mess with me,’ so I go hard every day — at practice, meetings, outside the field, everything.”

Defensive coordinator Keith Butler acknowledges Allen is still learning some of the intricacies of his new role. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t impressed.

“I think he is getting better every week,” Butler said, “so we are going to continue to use him.”

Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.