The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted two cornerbacks in the 2023 NFL Draft, selecting Joey Porter Jr. with the first pick in the second round and then selecting Cory Trice Jr. in the seventh round. Trice got a lot of buzz throughout OTAs, and with training camp now underway, Pro Football Focus named him Pittsburgh’s rookie with the most to gain in camp.
“Any of their picks could take on a significant role this season, but Cory Trice Jr. seems to have the most to gain as a seventh-round selection. Pittsburgh solidified its cornerback room by signing Patrick Peterson this offseason and drafting Joey Porter Jr. with the first pick of the second round, so a starting role isn’t what Trice will have his sights set on this summer. Still, he made an impression with a standout performance at OTAs and is going to be tested in training camp,” Ben Cooper wrote.
While it’ll be near-impossible for Trice to overtake Levi Wallace or Porter as a potential starter, he could still find himself in a valuable depth role with a good performance at camp. Like Porter, Trice is long and athletic and fell in the draft due to injury concerns. On talent alone, Trice could’ve probably been selected at the end of Day Two or early in Day three, but due to his injury history, the Steelers were able to snag him in the seventh.
With the league trending towards more long, athletic cornerbacks, Trice could find himself earning decent playing time as a rookie. He hasn’t had the same buzz in training camp as he did during OTAs, but it sounds like he’s made a few solid plays, while also getting beat a few times.
That’s pretty much to be expected as a rookie, and it’s silly to make any solid determinations four days into training camp just how much or how little Trice plays as a rookie, but I would be a little surprised if he didn’t have somewhat of a backup role with Pittsburgh in 2023.
The Steelers have whiffed on a lot of picks at the cornerback position for a number of years now, but there’s hope that Porter and Trice can buck that trend and develop into solid players for them. With their similar builds, Mike Tomlin’s already nicknamed them “Avatars,” and hopefully they can show the fight necessary to develop into good pros.
Even if Trice doesn’t have a huge role as a rookie, there’s a lot of potential for him to develop, but I do think he’s going to get some opportunities to show his mettle during his rookie season. He’s a player I’m very interested in during the rest of camp and the preseason, and I’m excited to see what sort of opportunities he might get when the regular season kicks off.
