Last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers allowed 3,779 passing yards during the regular season, which ranked 19th in the league, and 29 passing TDs, which ranked 28th. The team struggled to defend the deep ball at points throughout the year, allowing the likes of Nelson Agholor of the New England Patriots and A.J. Brown of the Philadelphia Eagles to torch them down the field on vertical shots.
Pittsburgh has since overhauled their CB room during the offseason, cutting Ahkello Witherspoon, Arthur Maulet, and William Jackson III while signing Patrick Peterson and Chandon Sullivan. They also went out and drafted Joey Porter Jr. and Cory Trice Jr., two big, long CBs who can play physical press man coverage and aren’t afraid of getting involved in the running game either.
Going into 2023, Pittsburgh wants to better defend the deep ball and make opposing offenses work their way down the field more methodically, allowing their pass rush to disrupt the passing game and force turnovers. DB Coach Grady Brown spoke to the media Tuesday on the first day of mandatory minicamp and was asked if there are any schematic advantages of having longer corners like Trice and Porter.
“They cover a lot of ground,” Brown said according to audio from the Steelers PR Department. “They occupy a lot of space. They’re long on the deep ball, which was an issue for us early in the year. When the ball is thrown down a field long, guys get even longer, so the quarterback must throw the ball even further, if that makes sense. Whereas a guy, my height 5’10 or so, you may be able to throw the ball over his hand.
So, a guy, imagine how much longer than me Joey is or Trice is right now. So, that’s a smaller window for the quarterback to fit the ball in so we can get ’em to turn their heads and play the ball. They should help us along in that deep ball phase of the game.”
Porter and Trice both have that rare combination of height and length that gives them the range to impact the passing game and minimize passing lanes, especially down the field. Much to like Brown said, opposing QBs must factor in the length and size of bigger DBs when attempting to place the ball in tight windows or over the receiver’s shoulder, making it more difficult to complete those precision passes on a consistent basis.
Both Porter and Trice have shown in college that they do a good job making completions difficult when in close proximity to the pass catcher thanks to their sheer length and size, being able to get their hands up to make it more difficult to drop a pass in the bucket or thread the needle on a pass over the middle.
The Steelers have shown this offseason that they definitely have a type they are seeking at cornerback. They are looking for big, long, fast coverage defenders that can constrict passing lanes and make catches difficult to come by. While Porter and Trice may not be the most agile and fluid coverage defenders, their length and size helps to make up for it as they can be in position to break up passes where smaller DBs would struggle.
