Throughout the last two decades, the cornerback position has been an … interesting one for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Names like Ike Taylor, Bryant McFadden, Joe Haden, DeShea Townsend and William Gay certainly come to mind as good ones in their tenure in the Black and Gold. But there are far more bad ones than good ones overall.
For roughly a decade the pass defense and the cornerback position in Pittsburgh was a real concern. It remains a real concern now entering the 2023 season, but at least Pittsburgh has some experienced pieces in place and one high-end rookie to build around.
That wasn’t always the case.
That said, there are some cornerbacks in the last decade or so that have their place in the Pro Football Focus Signature Stats record book — most good, one bad.
Let’s start with the bad first. That would be Valentino (previously Antwon) Blake, who set the PFF record for most yards allowed in a single season at the cornerback position, allowing 1,074 yards in 2015.
“Playing cornerback is one of the toughest jobs to do in the football world, and it can be an unforgiving one. In the PFF era, there have been just 11 seasons in which a corner has allowed more than 1000 receiving yards in a single season,” PFF’s Mason Cameron writes regarding Blake’s infamous record. “In his final season in Pittsburgh, Blake had some difficulty in coverage, unfortunately breaking this record by just two yards.
That was a disastrous season for Blake, though the Steelers were able to cover up for his struggles defensively, going 10-6 and reaching the AFC Divisional Round after a Wild Card win over the Kansas City Chiefs on the road.
Blake finished the 2015 regular season with 76 total tackles, 2 interceptions, 11 passes defensed, 1.0 sack and one forced fumble. According to PFF he finished the regular season with a grade of 32.3, which was almost the lowest for all qualifying cornerbacks. Not only did he set the record for most receiving yards allowed, he set the record for most missed tackles in a season that year with 28.
Oof.
Good news — sort of — is that Mike Hilton and Arthur Maulet hold two positive records in PFF’s signature stats.
Hilton, now a member of the Cincinnati Bengals, holds the record for positive run grade percentage at 11.8% during the 2020 season, his last in Pittsburgh. That’s the percentage of snaps that were “positive” against the run compared to neutral or negative plays.
“The cliche that corners make ‘business decisions’ in run defense is a bit overstated. Many make careers off their effort in run support, a fantastic example being Hilton,” Cameron writes regarding Hilton’s positive run percentage. “In his final season in Pittsburgh, Hilton earned a positive grade on nearly 12% of his run snaps, breaking his own record set back in 2017 – his rookie season. In the PFF era, just three recorded seasons at the position have surpassed 11.0% positive grade percentage, oddly enough all owned by current or former Steelers.”
In his four years with the Steelers, Hilton recorded 237 tackles, a whopping 30 of them for a loss, and seven interceptions. Even though Hilton missed four games due to injury in 2020, he still had one of his best seasons, posting a career-high five takeaways, with three interceptions and two fumble recoveries, as well as a forced fumble, eight passes defensed, and eight tackles for loss. He was a force against the run in Pittsburgh and remains one in Cincinnati.
Then, there’s Maulet.
Maulet holds the PFF record for run stop percentage at 11.59%. He took over for Hilton after the Steelers lost him in free agency to the Bengals. Maulet fit the mold as that scrappy, undersized slot corner that fought like hell coming downhill looking to lay the wood. He was released this offseason after a contract dispute and landed with the Baltimore Ravens.
“While Maulet hasn’t found massive success in the league, he has carved out some respect as a willing run defender,” Cameron writes of Maulet. “In his 2021 season, Maulet set the standard for run stop percentage in the PFF era by a wide margin, ranking more than 2% higher than the next highest season. While Maulet didn’t see a terribly large snap count, he still impressively finished with 16 stops on 138 snaps.”
Maulet signed with the Steelers for the 2021 season, spending two years with the team. A feisty slot corner, he appeared in 33 games, starting eight, and recording 106 tackles. He was primarily used as the team’s run down slot corner to help replace Hilton.
Maulet served as a run-downs slot corner who could blitz and stop the run, though he was considered a liability in coverage. Last season, Maulet appeared in all 17 games, starting six, and finishing the season with 59 tackles, a pair of sacks, and an interception.
