THE PAST DECADE
A look at the Steelers’ success and failure at the position since 2004
.86
Sacks per start for Jason Worilds since 2011 (16 sacks/21 starts)
.53
Sacks per start for LaMarr Woodley since 2011 (18 sacks/34 starts)
DRAFT
By design, the linebackers are the playmakers of Dick LeBeau’s 3-4 zone defense and for that reason, the Steelers have regularly made heavy investments at the position.
Jarvis Jones was taken with the 17th overall pick last year to replace James Harrison at right outside linebacker and saw significant action during his rookie campaign, as did 2013 sixth-round pick Vince Williams of Florida State. Williams was unexpectedly pressed into immediate service after Larry Foote suffered a season-ending biceps injury in the season opener, and the coaching staff felt reserve Kion Wilson wasn’t up to the task of replacing Foote on the inside at the Buck position next to the team’s best defensive player, Mack linebacker Lawrence Timmons.
The Steelers used their 2007 firstand second-round picks on Timmons and left outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley, respectively. Woodley looked to be on the fast-track to superstar status before three consecutive injuryplagued seasons have the Steelers deciding whether or not to keep him and his bulky salary. The team could instead release him and re-sign Jason Worilds, who was taken in the second round of the 2010 draft to be groomed as a successor to Harrison. Worilds flourished while playing in place of Woodley, and this decision is easily the Steelers’ most intriguing plot line.
Sean Spence, taken in 2012, remains an unknown commodity after spending two seasons on IR. Chris Carter and Stevenson Sylvester have seen mostly special teams action.
Other draft picks like Thaddeus Gibson and Bruce Davis had impressive collegiate pedigrees but were jettisoned quickly. A 2004 pick, Nathaniel Adibi, is now a police officer in Virginia.
FREE AGENCY
This category essentially starts and ends with arguably the greatest undrafted free agent in the team’s history, James Harrison, who re-joined the Steelers in 2004 (he was first signed by the team in 2002). Foote was reacquired from Detroit in 2010 after a one-season stint in his hometown. Other linebackers were added for depth and special teams prowess — Keyaron Fox, Patrick Bailey and Andre Frazier to name a few.