The Pittsburgh Steelers have made a lot of adjustments to their defense since last season. While the front largely remains intact, the linebackers and secondary will look quite different this year. There were already concerns in those spots, which is why they felt the need to make changes, but question marks remain.
Cameron Sutton left in free agency at cornerback, the Steelers replacing him with future Hall of Famer Patrick Peterson—who is now 33 years old. They also drafted Joey Porter Jr. with the 32nd pick back in April, though he’s not guaranteed to start, or even play, right away.
“I don’t know what to do with Patrick Peterson or Joey Porter. I like Joey Porter quite a bit, I like the fit, but as a rookie, I don’t know”, Pro Football Focus’ Steve Palazzolo told Mina Kimes on NFL on ESPN. “I think the Steelers have done a just job of just throwing depth at the cornerback position. Even if guys don’t work out, they’ve stitched it together”.
While they let Ahkello Witherspoon and William Jackson III go this offseason—neither of whom played for them much, if at all last year—the Steelers did retain Wallace, as well as James Pierre. After adding veteran slot Chandon Sullivan, they evidently granted a request for release by Arthur Maulet. They also drafted Cory Trice Jr. in the seventh round.
So they do have depth, on paper, with Peterson, Wallace, Porter, Sullivan, Pierre, and Trice, as well as a number of safeties who can play in the box or in the slot like Damontae Kazee and Keanu Neal. Versatility and depth may be their strength. But we’ll ultimately have to let it play out before we know.
“The cornerback room on paper looks interesting, but it’s really a wait-and-see”, Kimes said. “You have Peterson, who’s coming off a good year, but he’s not getting younger. I like the Joey Porter Jr. draft pick, makes a ton of sense, great draft pick, but he’s a rookie. Is Levi Wallace gonna play? It’s just, ‘eh, you know, I’m gonna have to wait and see’”.
It didn’t feel good to lose Sutton, who was the first cornerback the Steelers drafted and developed in quite a while. The Lions offered him $11 million per year, a figure Pittsburgh apparently wasn’t really willing to touch, but it also seems as though they already knew they might be in on Peterson, which could have affected their top-dollar offer.
Porter should develop into at least a quality starter, but how good and how soon—and how long—are questions that can’t be answered right now. Another question in the midst of all this is where Peterson is going to be.
There’s been a lot of talk about him transitioning into the slot, something he’s evidently somewhat excited about, but while he should have the skill set to pull that off, neither he nor the Steelers will know exactly how that works out unless or until that happens. And if it doesn’t, then, well, they may lack a quality slot option.
