Just one day away from the preseason opener for the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium, slot cornerback remains a bit of a mystery.
After seeing Arthur Maulet and Cameron Sutton hold down the role last season in key situations, Pittsburgh lost both of those guys in the offseason. Now, names like Chandon Sullivan, Duke Dawson, Elijah Riley and even Tre Norwood are getting cracks at playing in the slot in hopes of shoring up a major area of concern.
Though nobody has really stood out to this point in training camp, former Steelers cornerback turned scout Ike Taylor remains rather impressed with Sullivan, calling him a “middle of the road” guy who is starting to make plays in training camp.
Appearing on his “Bleav in Steelers” podcast with co-host Mark Bergin, Taylor praised the 27-year-old Sullivan, who was signed on Day Three of the 2023 NFL Draft after spending the 2022 season in Minnesota.
“He knows how to be a professional in the middle-of-the-road kind of guy. Sullivan knows that he’s got an opportunity right here, and knows it’s major for him,” Taylor said, according to video via Bergin’s YouTube page. “… coming to Pittsburgh and playing for Coach T and seeing how the organization treats players, this is exactly where you want to be. … You see Sullivan doing what he’s doing, watching his old tape to this year, he’s just finally coming around to being him and making plays.
“… Sullivan’s doing exactly what he needs to do. … He definitely handles his business.”
Sullivan had a strong day on Wednesday in the final padded practice prior to the preseason opener, breaking up a number of passes in team sessions while getting top reps defensively, according to Steelers Depot’s own Alex Kozora.
“Impressive day for NCB Chandon Sullivan with multiple pass breakups. The slot battle remains ongoing,” Kozora wrote in his Day Twelve training camp diary from Latrobe.
Sullivan broke up a pass in the end zone from quarterback Kenny Pickett intended for veteran receiver Allen Robinson II, added some pass breakups against undrafted free agent wide receiver Jordan Byrd, and had an early breakup on Robinson in the first team 11v11 session of the day, according to Kozora’s notes.
After getting first-team reps in OTAs, it’s not a surprise that Sullivan continues to get first-team reps in the slot defensively for the Steelers in training camp. Though the slot cornerback battle remains an ongoing one with Sullivan and Riley emerging as the favorites at this point, Sullivan is starting to make plays to separate from the pack, at least in Taylor’s eyes.
In Minnesota in 2022, he recorded 60 tackles and broke up seven passes though the analytics weren’t kind, grading him out as one of the NFL’s worst slot corners.
Sullivan also has experience with the Eagles and Packers. His best statistical season came in 2021 when he had three interceptions for the Packers. In five NFL seasons, he has 23 passes defended and five interceptions.
An undrafted free agent out of Georgia State, Sullivan played five games for the Eagles in 2018. He spent the following three seasons with the Packers, and 2022 was his only season in Minnesota. While he was a special-teams contributor early in his career, he hasn’t played much there in recent seasons.
Despite having a guy with the experience of Sullivan on the roster as an option in the slot, the position remains one of the biggest question marks for the Steelers entering the 2023 season.
