The Steelers are now back at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, facing down a long regular season that looks a lot more promising given how things have gone leading up to it. Finishing just above .500 last year, they anticipate being able to compete with any team in the league this season with second-year QB Kenny Pickett leading the way.
They’ve done a great deal to address what they identified as their shortcomings during the offseason, which included addressing the offensive and defensive lines as well as the secondary and the inside linebacker room, which is nearly entirely different from last year. The results have been positive so far.
Even well into the regular season and beyond, there are going to be plenty of questions that need answered. When will the core rookies get to play, or even start? Is the depth sufficient where they upgraded? Can they stand toe-to-toe with the Bengals and the other top teams in the league? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout the season, as we have for many years.
Question: Who plays in the slot at cornerback for the Steelers in the season opener?
The impression we’ve been given consistently throughout the offseason is that the Steelers intend to use Patrick Peterson in the slot. We got a sampling or two of that during training camp and the preseason games, Peterson playing a few snaps in there, but really, if that is what their intention is, they really haven’t shown their hand.
Given that they lost three starters this offseason—CB Cameron Sutton, S Terrell Edmunds, and nickel Arthur Maulet—we could be in for a period of trial and error. The Steelers did this a couple years back after losing some players in the secondary, and we saw them use a variety of combinations in the first few weeks before settling on more stable rotations.
They do have options. Chandon Sullivan is an experienced slot defender and is probably the most likely at this point to line up in the slot if Peterson isn’t there. Another option is Desmond King II, but he was only recently signed. The coaching staff might be cautious to throw him onto the field too soon before he is prepared.
Head coach Mike Tomlin did express in his pre-game press conference yesterday that they intend to mix and match, not just at inside linebacker, not just at safety, but at nickel as well, so I think there is valid reason to ask questions about how the slot defender snaps will be distributed early on.
Until we see Peterson getting a great amount of work there in an actual game, I don’t think I’m going to be convinced that that is Plan A. Perhaps 1A. But at this point I’m fully expecting to see three or more defenders playing significant snaps in the slot against the San Francisco 49ers, including safeties like Damontae Kazee or Keanu Neal.
