Steelers' Alex Highsmith Gives Sneak-Peek At Team's 2026 Defensive Strategy

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a new regime in town, thanks to the hiring of Mike McCarthy. With McCarthy comes a whole new coaching staff, including Brian Angelichio, Patrick Graham, and James Campen being the most notable. They will finally have new faces with fresh ideas. Under the former coaching staff led by Mike Tomlin, everything was stale. The offense was non-existent for years, and the defense couldn't keep up schematically. McCarthy has said the defense will run the same 3-4 scheme, which has been a Steelers staple since the 1980s. It is still a really popular scheme around the league, but the Steelers' way of running it needs to be adjusted.  

One area the Steelers haven't been able to capitalize on is the usage of all their edge rushers. They have one of, if not the best, edge rusher rooms in the entire NFL. TJ Watt, Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig make up the unit, and even Jack Sawyer looked like he was coming along. However, the defense struggled to maximize their talents. Herbig is arguably the team's best pass rusher, but he was often significantly out-snapped by Watt and Highsmith. It's a great problem to have, but the new staff needs to find ways to use all of these guys. 

Highsmith was recently interviewed by former NFL Head Coach Jon Gruden, who discussed the Steelers and their 2026 offseason. He mentioned that the defense was inconsistent in 2025 and also talked about how they worked the three OLB package, which features Watt, Highsmith, and Herbig, all in at once. Hightsmith said that in 2026, the defense is going to work on that package in the game plans more consistently.

"I think we did a good job this year, of when we had our three outside backer package in with Nick as well, like, so we were able to work that," Highsmith said. "I know we're gonna try and work that in more, cause obviously teams are game-planning, you know, especially if we stay in the same spot."

The Steelers' edge rushers typically play on one side; that's how it's been for decades. Now, it's starting to hurt them. Watt has had a Hall of Fame career, but the last two seasons, he has not been nearly as effective. Rather than changing schematics to help him out, the Steelers just stayed stagnant by playing him on one side. Watt is way better on his left side than right, but it would really help him out against chips and slide protections if he lined up in other spots. 

It's not all the coaching staff's fault; it's a rare sight to see all of these edge rushers healthy in the same game. Herbig and Highsmith are common suspects for the injury bug. Watt has had freak accidents the last few seasons and has had injuries / medical incidents out of his control. Even when the Steelers have their edge rusher fully healthy, they didn't run their three-OLB package nearly enough. They ran it primarily on third downs, but this needs to be more than just a third-down package. 

Steelers Can Run Three-OLB Package On First And Second Downs

The Steelers run their three-OLB package on third downs for obvious reasons; there's less beef in the game. It would leave them liable against the run, but all of their edge rusher are exceptional run defenders. Why not try this package on first down? Watt, Highsmith, and Herbig are all athletic enough to defend the run from just about anywhere. Herbig typically lines up on the interior in this package, but matching Watt on a guard could fare better, against the pass, but also the run. 

The Steelers' defense is in dire need of a schematic change, not necessarily the 3-4, but their designs behind it. The best way to do that is to maximize their edge rushers' snap count; they're the best players, let them be the best players.

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