The allure of the diamond in the rough is tough to resist sometimes, particularly in the world of sports. It’s arguably the most streamlined means of the underdog succeeding, and of having the opportunity to watch it happen. When it comes to the NFL, we’re talking about the late-round draft picks and college free agents.
This year, Pittsburgh Steelers fans are excited about one possible candidate in particular, seventh-round cornerback Cory Trice Jr., whose draft stock fell because of concerns over his medicals. But the fact that his profile is so similar to that of second-round cornerback Joey Porter Jr. only adds further enticement, and even their teammates during OTAs have indulged in the anticipation.
“They’re both sponges. They ask a lot of questions from myself and Pat [Peterson] and all the other guys that’ve been here”, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick said of his new young cornerbacks. “They’re guys that are long, they’re fast, they’re physical. I think that’s what we need on the outside, guys that can defend the fade route, defend the deep ball, and beat up receivers and slow them down”.
Fitzpatrick’s comment about that type being what the Steelers need on the outside is a potentially interesting one, though it’s hard to decipher how literally he meant such a remark to be taken, or if it was more of a figure of speech.
Last year’s starting cornerbacks were Cameron Sutton, standing at 5’11” and 188 pounds, now in Detroit, and Levi Wallace, 6’0” and 179 pounds, who remains with the team. They started out with Ahkello Witherspoon, who is 6’2”, but that didn’t pan out.
While Wallace is back, and should play a key role, the secondary now also has the aforementioned Peterson at 6’1”, 198 pounds, and Porter, 6’2” and 198 pounds, could be in there as well. Trice is the biggest of the group at 6’3” and 215 pounds, whose muscle is apparent from video during OTAs.
There’s no doubt that the Steelers have gotten bigger at the cornerback position this offseason with the signing of Peterson and the drafting of Porter and Trice, all of whom are 6’1” or taller. All of them are somewhat bigger-bodied as well, at least compared to the average cornerback, with Trice, again, the biggest.
But were the Steelers active in pursuing this particular profile for the position or were these just the moves that happened to make sense? After losing Sutton, going after Peterson made perfect sense. Everyone knew they were interested in Porter. And Trice was simply a great value pick when weighing risk versus reward.
Whether by coincidence or by design, though, they now have a larger, more physical cornerback group, some of which will need some time to develop. Long guys who are fast and physical, as Fitzpatrick talked about. Will they prove to be what the defense needs, after all?
