One year after finding a clear, legitimate answer at the cornerback position in rookie Joey Porter Jr., the Pittsburgh Steelers enter the evaluation cycle ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft with a glaring hole once again at cornerback.
For Pro Football Focus, the cornerback position is the Steelers’ biggest draft need coming out of the 2023 season.
Porter developed into a No. 1 lockdown corner for the Steelers, taking on the top assignments weekly and more than holding his own. Behind him though, the Steelers have issues. Patrick Peterson struggled at times at the cornerback position in 2023 and looked much better overall when he was at safety.
Veterans Levi Wallace, James Pierre and Chandon Sullivan are all free agents, while rookies Darius Rush and Cory Trice Jr. are largely unknowns after Rush played just 39 defensive snaps for the Steelers in 2023 and Trice missed the entire season with a torn ACL suffered in training camp.
Therefore, cornerback is a major need.
For PFF, there’s one player who fits that need for the Steelers at the cornerback position: Clemson’s Nate Wiggins.Â
“Wiggins has legit ball skills and shutdown athletic abilities,” PFF writes. “He needs to be more consistent in run defense and with the overall strength parts of his game, but he might be at the top of the list of corners you’d want to tell, ‘Go make sure that receiver doesn’t catch the ball.'”
Wiggins had 29 total tackles, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and a defensive touchdown for the Tigers this season with three interceptions total over the last two years. He’s been a popular name tied to the Steelers in the pre-draft cycle even dating back to the 2023 college football season.
He profiles as a long, athletic cornerback who fits the modern-day style of athlete at the position.
Wiggins is great in coverage and could end up as a nice complement to Porter, especially given the fact that both have good length. It also helps that the Steelers have a great relationship with Dabo Swinney and Clemson, and heavily scouted the Tigers this season.Â
With Porter developing the way that he has, the Steelers need a true running mate opposite him. Though there is hope that Trice can be that guy and that Rush develops and works his way into the mix full-time, a high-caliber prospect like Wiggins would be a welcome addition to the room as the Steelers continue to turn things over at this position.
