Outside of maybe just one failed defensive assignment, Pittsburgh Steelers second-year cornerback Doran Grant appeared to have a good showing in the team’s 30-17 Friday night preseason loss to the Detroit Lions. Grant, the Steelers fourth-round draft pick last year out of Ohio State, led the team in total tackles Friday night in addition to returning an interception for a touchdown early in the second quarter
“Cover-2, just playing my position and just reacted and caught the ball,” Grant said of his 39-yard interception return after the game.
Grant, who found himself on the Steelers practice squad last year after failing to make the final 53-man roster out of training camp, said Friday night that he’s feels things are coming to him a bit easier now in his second season with the team.
“A little bit,” he said. “After having that year of practice squad really helped me a lot development-wise. I just picked up a lot of things from being on the practice squad.”
A few days ago, a report indicated that Grant might start working some at safety during the final few days of training camp and he was asked about that possibility after Friday night’s game.
“There’s been a little talk, but I mean right now, I’m just going to handle my business day-by-day until anything happens,” Grant said. “It’s not in my control.”
A move to safety would put even more emphasis on Grant’s open-field tackling ability and he believes he excels in that area.
“I think it’s a good part of my game,” he said. “I like to be the full thing, so I got to keep working on all the parts. But yes, I’d say that’s a strong part.”
Regardless of where Grant plays, he knows that tackling is something he’ll have to be good at.
“Were a physical defense so everybody has to go tackle,” the young cornerback said.
With fellow cornerback Senquez Golson now out for an extended amount of time, and quite possibly for the entire season, with a Lisfranc injury, it appears as through Grant is a near-lock to make the final 53-man roster this year out of training camp. With that said, he learned during his rookie season that nothing is guaranteed for him in 2016.
“I think so, but I thought there was a good opportunity last year, but you know it’s the same thing every year,” Grant told the media in the locker room. “You’ve got to come in compete ready to go and in the NFL everyday counts and there ain’t no guarantees.”
