A new series to get you ready for training camp. While much of our attention and all the headlines will be on the big-name players — QB Kenny Pickett’s jump, how OT Broderick Jones looks, and new defensive starters like CB Patrick Peterson — the summer is a great time to uncover that training camp darling. Just in the way RB Jaylen Warren was that guy last season, we’re highlighting potential sleepers who could be pushing for a roster spot come final cutdowns.
CAMP SLEEPER: CB Duke Dawson
For most of the offseason, Dawson’s name was hardly mentioned by us or anyone else. But his name has popped up in recent months, directly named by GM Omar Khan as part of the mix for the Steelers’ starting slot corner, a position that’s up for grabs after the offseason losses of Cam Sutton and Arthur Maulet.
Dawson has been an easy name to forget. His football career has slid since being drafted in the second round by the New England Patriots in 2018. He never played a down for them, got dealt to Denver, and saw a little bit of action, starting three games in 2019 and another in 2020. To date, he has 414 total defensive snaps but none since that ’20 season. Since, he’s bounced around the league, spending last summer in Carolina before being signed to Pittsburgh’s practice squad in mid-October.
The best thing we can go off of is his college scouting report. An intriguing player out of Florida, he was lauded for his “big-man” hitting ability for a nickel corner. Here’s how NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein summed him up ahead of the 2018 draft.
“Compact, strong slot corner who can beat up finesse receivers when he’s allowed to crowd and disrupt the route release. Dawson can match and blanket underneath, but hip tightness shows up when he’s forced to turn and run from a backpedal. Dawson can handle himself in man or zone coverage and is ready to work when run support calls. He has some length and speed limitations, but he has the instincts and cover talent to become a starting nickel cornerback.”
That profiles like a Steelers slot corner. They’ve especially gravitated towards the hard-hitting little guys, names like Mike Hilton and Maulet. There’s plenty of unknown with Dawson — he literally hasn’t taken an NFL snap in nearly three years — but there’s just as much unknown about the team’s slot corner situation. It’s wide-open with Chandon Sullivan a potential frontrunner. The Steelers seem intent on moving around Patrick Peterson, suggesting he’ll see some work in the slot. Perhaps Damontae Kazee could scratch that itch too, though it’s been years since he’s been deployed there.
All of that is to say Dawson has the pedigree and playing style to make noise this summer. Couple that with a real opportunity on the depth chart and he has the ingredients to be a top Steelers sleeper.
