Pittsburgh Steelers CB Levi Wallace had an impressive debut season in the Black and Gold, racking up four interceptions and shining as an outside corner opposite Cameron Sutton. But Wallace wasn’t playing at 100 percent all season, he told The PM Team on 93.7 The Fan, revealing that a bout with tonsilitis during training camp last season kept him under his playing weight.
“During training camp last year I got sick with tonsillitis, so I lost a lot of weight,” Wallace said. “It was hard to bounce back, and even being in the AFC North, it’s just different football than the AFC East. With the bigger running backs here, I mean you got the Ravens who run a lot, Joe Mixon’s over there, even hitting Najee. There’s big backs over here. So it was just hard to bounce back from losing that much weight, and then you want to still feel as fast as you can. You don’t want to put on a bunch of weight and not be able to move, especially at corner. So this offseason, I was able to get back to my normal weight and then put on some extra pounds. I’m sitting at 195 right now.”
That is significantly heavier than the 179 that Wallace is listed at on Pittsburgh’s roster, and it sounds like that’s around where he was last season. So getting back up to a size he feels more comfortable at is going to be beneficial for him and the Steelers.
He’ll become more proficient in the run game. With the bigger size, he’ll be able to play more run support and bring down some of the AFC North power backs, and other running backs around the league. It’ll also help him be more physical at the line of scrimmage, using some added strength to knock guys off their route at the line of scrimmage.
But the most important thing is that he’s just back where he feels he can play like himself. He was good last season playing at a weight he wasn’t used to, so he could develop into an even better player now that he’s back at a spot where he feels he can play with speed and physicality. We only saw three snaps from Wallace in the team’s preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he’s going to be an impactful player for Pittsburgh in 2023.
Patrick Peterson and Wallace are expected to be Pittsburgh’s starting outside corners, but Wallace is being pushed by rookie CB Joey Porter Jr. There’s a realistic scenario where Peterson moves around the defense and all three could potentially start. But if Pittsburgh feels Porter is worthy of starting, Wallace would likely get pushed to the third cornerback role. But he’s going to make an impact when he’s on the field for the Steelers, as he showed off his ball skills last season and being able to be more comfortable this season should only help.
He’s a steady player without a ton of swings in his play, and that consistency was nice to have in Pittsburgh’s secondary last season. Whether he’s in a similar role or a reduced one this year, that’s a trait that I’d expect him to continue to show.
That’s sort of been his role throughout his career, a steady presence at cornerback who can be relied on. Last season was the best of his career, with a career-high 13 passes defensed along with the four picks, which were also a career-high. Both those feats were accomplished despite Wallace only suiting up for 15 games. He’s someone who’s going to have a positive impact on the field for the Steelers, and he’s also an underrated mentor for the team’s young cornerback room.
Now that he’s healthy, another solid season should be in the works for Wallace, and he’ll be a key member of Pittsburgh’s cornerback room.
