Through the first four games of the season, the secondary for the Pittsburgh Steelers has been a real concern.
Offseason addition Patrick Peterson has struggled quite a bit in man coverage, allowing four touchdowns on the season after allowing just 12 the last two seasons. Veteran Levi Wallace hasn’t fared much better, allowing a team-high 21 receptions while surrendering two touchdowns as well.
Rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. has been limited to just 58 total snaps through the first four weeks of the season, but he’s allowed just two receptions on six targets, holding his own when on the field.
As we wait for the Steelers to give Porter more opportunities at cornerback, the struggles of Wallace and Peterson continue to be under the microscope. Though the 2024 NFL Draft is a long, long ways away and a lot can change between now and next April, cornerback remains one of the biggest needs for the Black and Gold.
That’s where Pro Football Focus’ Trevor Sikkema has the Steelers going in his latest mock draft, which dropped Monday. In Sikkema’s mock, he has the Steelers landing Clemson cornerback Nate Wiggins at No. 21 overall.
“Even with the Joey Porter Jr. selection in the 2023 draft, the Steelers still need more youthful athleticism in their cornerback room to match up with modern-day offenses. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Wiggins is that type of ball player,” Sikkema writes. “He has 10 forced incompletions, one interception and three dropped interceptions that were close to turnovers over the past two seasons. Wiggins and Porter would form quite the young CB duo.”
Wiggins continues to generate quite a bit of buzz ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft.
He profiles as a long, athletic cornerback who fits the modern-day style of athlete at the position and would be an ideal pairing opposite Porter for years to come for the Steelers.
Wiggins entered the 2023 season with 25 tackles, two tackles for loss, 15 pass breakups, a blocked field goal and an interception in 897 career snaps over 24 games for the Tigers. His interception was a 98-yard pick-six in the ACC Championship Game against North Carolina last season.
So far in 2023, Wiggins has four tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, three pass breakups and an interception that he returned for a touchdown in a September win over Florida Atlantic. Currently, Wiggins is dealing with a bone bruise in his knee after hyperextending it in a Sept. 23 loss to Florida State. The injury caused him to miss the Sept. 30 game on the road at Syracuse, but Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney expects him back this week against Wake Forest in Death Valley.
Wiggins was the fourth cornerback off the board in the mock draft from Sikkema. Alabama’s Kool-Aid McKinstry went No. 13 overall to the Arizona Cardinals, who hold the Texans’ first rounder, while Iowa’s Cooper DeJean went No. 15 to the Los Angeles Chargers. Sikkema then has Penn State’s Kalen King going one pick ahead of the Steelers to the Indianapolis Colts at No. 20, ending a shot at a reunion in the secondary in Pittsburgh for King and Porter.
