One of the most intriguing and important Pittsburgh Steelers’ camp battles that will kick off next month comes at slot cornerback. As the team searches to replace Arthur Maulet and Cam Sutton, who dominated slot snaps last year but are no longer on the roster, there’s a long list of candidates but no frontrunner.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, DBs Coach Grady Brown outlined the three names specifically gunning for that role, though he said the team is casting a wide net at the position.
“In no particular order, you have Eli, you have Sully, and then you have Duke,” Brown said via the Steelers’ PR Department. “Just as baseline a place to start. There are other guys that can play that position. But just from a baseline, those are the three guys that I’m excited to see compete at that spot this year.”
Brown is referring to Elijah Riley, Chandon Sullivan, and Duke Dawson. It’s similar to what GM Omar Khan said last month, though Brown included Riley when Khan didn’t. Three different body types with three different backgrounds, making for an exciting battle. Riley is a safety/slot hybrid with size who came over from Philadelphia shortly before the 2022 season kicked off. He appeared in only four games for Pittsburgh and logged 45 total snaps, 20 on defense, 25 on special teams. He played a key role in the team’s upset Week 6 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when the secondary was ravaged by injuries and finished the season with five tackles.
Sullivan is a veteran slot corner who inked a one-year deal on Day Three of this year’s draft. With 71 games played and 31 starts, Sullivan brings loads of experience, but he graded out as one of the league’s worst cover corners last season. According to Pro Football Reference, his QB rating against was an ugly 102.7.
Dawson is a pedigree player, a former second-round pick whose career has yet to pan out. He hasn’t played a regular season snap since 2020 and spent last year on the Steelers’ practice squad. Still, he’s a sleeper at the position.
As Brown mentioned, those three aren’t the only names the team will consider. At the least, Patrick Peterson figures to be another option, something Brown acknowledged Tuesday, and he’s already received some slot work. It may be one way to hide his loss of speed while also getting Joey Porter Jr. on the field.
It’s a battle that figures to take place throughout all of camp with no winner determined until late August. Of course, it may not be a winner-take-all-scenario either. Since losing Mike Hilton, the Steelers have used their slot corner by committee, usually with a run-down corner coupled with a pass-down option.
