‘Not just a thumper’ – In 1st test in every-down role, Steelers’ Elandon Roberts thrives

Before Sunday, Elandon Roberts had appeared in 116 NFL regular-season games with 84 starts. He has won two Super Bowl rings, been part of three teams and been named a captain of two.

But as much of a presence as Roberts has been in the middle of teams’ defenses, Roberts on Sunday in Cleveland did something he hadn’t done as a pro: Roberts played every defensive snap for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Though the result was a loss to the rival Browns, the defense did its part in a 13-10 defeat.

Even at the advanced (for professional football) age of 29, Roberts felt no worse for the wear.

“It’s November football,” Roberts said after a practice this past week. “You could play 50% of the snaps, your body is still gonna be numb. So it’s all good.”

What was good for the Steelers was Roberts’ play. Over those career-high 88 snaps (including special teams), he had career highs in total tackles (15) and solo tackles (11) and tied a career high in tackles for loss with two.

The effort in Cleveland marked the second consecutive game Roberts shouldered a career-high workload. He hadn’t played more than 84% of his team’s defensive snaps for the New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins or Steelers since entering the NFL in 2016. But Roberts played 65 defensive snaps (96% of the total) and 75 total snaps (including special teams) during a Nov. 12 win against the Green Bay Packers.

“He’s more than answered the call,” coach Mike Tomlin said of Roberts, who signed a two-year, $7 million contract with the Steelers in March. “Elandon is a great communicator. He’s a veteran. It’s one of the reasons why we were attracted to him in free agency.”

Roberts was merely the Steelers’ No. 3 inside linebacker and had played fewer than 60% of the defensive snaps through seven games. But the other two co-starters, Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander, suffered season-ending injuries in consecutive weeks.

That has led to a much heavier reliance on Roberts than the Steelers had ever intended.

Veteran ILB Elandon Roberts on playing every defensive snap for the Steelers in last Sunday’s game pic.twitter.com/T5GWliUr2u

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) November 24, 2023

“The big thing for me is just going out there and being able to make plays for my teammates,” Roberts said. “Just showing the guys that they can count on me, I got their back, whatever situation it is.

“Sunday, I guess I had a lot of tackles, but it could have been anybody on the defense. I still would have just done my job and made sure that I did my assignment to play our defense the way it needed to be.”

What the Steelers needed from him that they weren’t expecting to need was coverage skills. That’s considered a weakness for a player known more as a run-stuffer.

But without Alexander and Holcomb to handle coverage duties, the Steelers had no choice but to deploy Roberts in passing situations to cover running backs and tight ends. That was considered less than ideal.

A funny thing happened, though, at least if Pro Football Focus data is to be believed. Roberts graded out as the best coverage defender of any player on either team in the game.

“He did an outstanding job,” defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said of Roberts in coverage. “A lot times he was one-on-one, and if the guy catches the ball and runs from there, it’s going to be a pretty sizable gain. So I was excited about ‘E’ having an opportunity to do that.

“We kind of leaned on him because he had been here the longest, knows our stuff even though he hadn’t played a lot of dime defense for us. He did it and did it well.”

Per PFF, Roberts was in coverage for 44 snaps, but the men he was guarding combined for an aggregate 49 yards.

“He’s come here and shown he’s not just a thumper,” All-Pro outside linebacker T.J. Watt said. “He’s been able to do some multiple different things for us. Glad to have him inside for us.”

Since losing Holcomb and Alexander, the Steelers have added a bevy of ILBs to the organization, desperate to find a good fit to play out the season next to Roberts. That makes Roberts’ role for the final seven games somewhat in flux.

But after seeing Roberts do better than merely “holding serve” in coverage, the Steelers likely feel comfortable that if none of the new acquisitions or practice-squad call-ups work out, Roberts can handle the increased duties.

“This is a veteran guy who knows how to prepare,” Austin said. “All of a sudden he gets thrust into a different role, and he handled it beautifully.”

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