A few days ago I wrote about the possibility of Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Doran Grant moving to safety next season and on Wednesday, head coach Mike Tomlin was asked about that during his end of the season press conference.
“He may be,” said Tomlin of Grant, who the team drafted in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft out of Ohio State. “Again, we’re just at the infancy of this thing. I hadn’t gotten into any strong consideration specifically about division of labor and things of that nature.”
Being as Tomlin didn’t totally discount the idea of Grant making a position switch during the offseason, you have to think there’s a good chance that might ultimately happen.
Grant, who measured in at the 2015 NFL Scouting combine at 5102, 200-pounds, recorded 63 total tackles during his final season at Ohio State. Immediately after the Steelers drafted him, defensive backs coach Carnell Lake called Grant a solid, physical corner who has decent speed. Additionally, he said he thought Grant is a strong tackler who could easily transition from corner to safety.
At this point, I highly doubt the Steelers see Grant as future starting cornerback and that’s not a huge surprise being as he struggled at times staying close to wide receivers in college. Because of that, now is the time to shift him to safety. While many are predicting the Steelers to draft a safety in the first two rounds of the 2016 NFL Draft, I envision them waiting a while before they grab one.
It will be interesting to see if Robert Golden is re-signed during the offseason to start opposite Mike Mitchell in 2016 and should that wind up being the case, Grant’s second year in the league might very well include him being the No. 3 or No. 4 safety on the depth chart.
