With the departure of veteran cornerbacks Cameron Sutton and Arthur Maulet, the Steelers will certainly be relying on a lot of new faces at the position this year. And not everyone is buying into those new faces making an impact right away.
The Steelers pass defense was a bit of a mixed bag last season. On the bright side, they led the league with 20 interceptions. However, they gave up 29 passing touchdowns, which ranked 28th in the league. Even with guys like Sutton on the team, cornerback was certainly a weakness. Sutton started 15 games last season before signing with the Lions in free agency, leaving the Steelers without arguably their best player at the position last season.
Recently, longtime NFL insider Adam Caplan sat down with Scott Ferrall on SportsGrid Radio to discuss all things Steelers. While he had mostly positive things to say about the team, the big exception is when it came to the cornerback position.
“The big issue though is at cornerback.” Caplan stated. “Remember Cam Sutton signed with Detroit? That does worry me. They’re not very good at corner. That is by far the weakness on their defense. If you’re gonna beat the Steelers’ defense, you throw the ball at those corners.”
While they did lose Sutton, the Steelers at least made an effort to bolster the corner position through the draft and through free agency. They signed former All-Pro Patrick Peterson, who may be a little past his prime, but who had a bounce back season last year with five interceptions. Also, they added two rookies in second rounder Joey Porter Jr. and seventh rounder Cory Trice, both of whom have impressed this offseason.
Most people don’t expect the corner position to be a strength for the Steelers this season. And based on what Caplan is saying, all we can really hope is that they aren’t a glaring weakness that other teams can pick on. The front seven is looking solid as always and Minkah Fitzpatrick is a Pro Bowl level safety who can provide help to the corners over the top and in the run game. The Steelers also have Levi Wallace and James Pierre returning from last season, so there isn’t complete turnover despite the painful Sutton loss.
The Pittsburgh Steelers seemingly hit the reset button on the cornerback position this offseason, filling the position with players both young and old. There won’t be a lot of time for adjustment for that group this season, as if what Caplan said holds true, teams will be throwing at them early and often.
