​Opinions across the NFL landscape are mixed as the Pittsburgh Steelers head toward the 2026 season, and Mike Clay of ESPN is among those who see a clear weak spot on the roster. In Clay’s assessment, the team’s most glaring deficiency sits at inside linebacker, a position that struggled to stop the run in 2025 and that could define the Steelers’ competitiveness next year.
Clay notes that Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson are slated as the starters inside, but he questions whether that duo represents an upgrade given last season’s run-stopping difficulties. The Steelers ranked 27th in run stop win rate at 28.9 percent in 2025, a stat that stings for a defense built to be stout against the run and to pressure opposing offenses with multiple looks from the front seven. Clay’s argument centers on the notion that the inside linebacker group failed to anchor the unit and left the rest of the defense with amplified stress as games wore on.
From a performance standpoint, Queen carried a heavy workload as an every-down player in 2025, yet his PFF grade dropped to 61st among 67 qualified off-ball linebackers. The decline continued into 2024, when he ranked 54th among 69 qualified, underscoring a pattern that worries evaluators who expect a more consistent level of play from a player tasked with guiding the middle of the defense. Wilson, entering his third season, showed promise in some areas but faced stiff competition for snaps. He endeavored to fend off Cole Holcomb and Malik Harrison—both still on the roster—but could not fully separate himself last year, leaving Pittsburgh with a depth chart that could hamper versatility and adaptability.
In Clay’s view, the numbers tell a story about a unit that struggled to constrain opposing rushing attacks, contributing to broader defensive woes. The run defense issue is not just about two linebackers failing to make plays; it’s about how the entire scheme and its execution impacted the results. If the Steelers want to reframe their 2026 defense, Clay suggests a reimagining of how the front seven plays off one another, a renewed emphasis on tackling, gap integrity, and the ability to shed blocks efficiently to prevent opposing runners from finding daylight.
Yet the concerns aren’t solely about individual performance. The broader context of the defensive system matters, and Clay argues that a change in defensive coordinator could yield dividends. Patrick Graham, stepping in as the defensive coordinator for 2026, brings a fresh schematic approach that could leverage players’ strengths more effectively and mitigate the weaknesses that plagued the run defense in 2025. With a new voice and a revised game plan, there is potential for the Steelers to close the gap in the trenches and improve their overall efficiency against the run, a crucial step toward becoming a more formidable, balanced defense.
As fans and analysts monitor the Steelers’ offseason moves, the question remains whether Pittsburgh will prioritize bolstering the inside linebacker position through free agency, the draft, or a combination of both. The goal is clear: create a more formidable front that can regulate the line of scrimmage, enable the pass rush to herald from a more secure front, and reduce the burden on the secondary by curbing explosive rushing plays. If the Steelers can address the inside linebacker role effectively, they could unlock a more resilient defense in 2026, one that can compete with and frustrate top offenses across the league.
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