With the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2022 season over, the team finishing above .500 but failing to make the postseason, we have turned our attention to the offseason and everything that means. One thing that it means is that some stock evaluations are going to start taking on broader contexts, reflecting on a player’s development, either positively or negatively, over the course of the season. Other evaluations will reflect only one immediate event or trend. The nature of the evaluation, whether short-term or long-term, will be noted in the reasoning section below.
Player: CB Chandon Sullivan
Stock Value: Purchased
Reasoning: The Steelers signed the veteran slot defender during the 2023 NFL Draft. A 2018 college free agent, he reportedly signed a one-year deal that will likely be for the veteran minimum and may not include a signing bonus. He adds depth to an area of need.
Guess what? The Philadelphia Eagles signed cornerback Chandon Sullivan out of Georgia State as a college free agent following the 2018 NFL Draft, the year Andy Weidl was promoted to Director of Player Personnel. That’s yet another player the team has added this offseason whose time overlapped with their new assistant general manager.
Sullivan only spent the 2018 season there, however, later logging three seasons with the Green Bay Packers. He most recently played for the Minnesota Vikings in 2022, leaving one to wonder if Patrick Peterson also shared his input before the signing.
Though not strictly limited there (he is 5’11”), Sullivan has spent most of his career lining up in the slot. He has logged nearly 3,000 defensive snaps over the course of his NFL career, including 945 last season, recording more than 700 in each of the past three years.
Sullivan has five interceptions on his resume, though none in Minnesota. He had a career-high three for the Packers in 2021, and one in each of the two preceding seasons. He has started 10 games in each of the past three years and has never missed a game due to injury. He has played every game since his second season in the league.
According to our Jonathan Heitritter, the addition of Sullivan does represent an upgrade at the slot cornerback position over Arthur Maulet, who has been the primary defender there for the past two seasons.
He will still have to compete not just for the nickel job but for a roster spot in general. The Steelers did add two cornerbacks during the 2023 NFL Draft, so the room is getting a bit crowded, but what they don’t have an overstock of is slot defenders. Which is why they brought Sullivan in during the draft.
