He is the newest player on the roster of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and many fans think he is undrafted free agent safety Robert Golden because of the number that he wears, but cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke has made an impact on special teams in his first two games wearing the black and gold.
The former third round draft pick of the Oakland Raiders downed a punt at the one yard-line last week in the opener against the Denver Broncos and Sunday against the New York Jets he used his blazing speed to get in the face of Jets return man Jeremy Kerley late in the third quarter to cause a muff of a catch which was recovered by Steelers\’ safety Ryan Mundy.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was asked about the signing of the former University of Miami product last week prior to the opener. “He’s got big-time upside, he’s an extremely fast guy,” said Tomlin. “It was an opportunity for us to put a young cornerback in the mix and continue to work with him and develop his skill and see if maybe he can help us at some point.”
Although Van Dyke is unlikely to see the field on defense anytime soon, he certainly has already helped the team in the first two games. The Steelers punt coverage unit had question marks heading into the season, but Van Dyke has quickly calmed many of the fears associated with those questions as the gunner. Time will tell how his development as a cornerback will turn out, but for now he is doing everything that is asked of him.
