The Pittsburgh Steelers need to find a long-term answer at cornerback to pair with Joey Porter Jr., and the draft is one way they could do it. Porter had a breakout rookie season, even earning some Defensive Player of the Year votes, but he needs help. Right now, Patrick Peterson is the closest thing they have to another outside cornerback.
They could pursue Peterson’s successor in the 2024 NFL Draft, and if they do, CBS Sports analyst Ryan Wilson has some names. He shared his thoughts on the cornerback class relative to the Steelers on 93.7 The Fan recently.
“Quinyon Mitchell put out an absolute show” at the Senior Bowl, he said to Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller. “You watched him in the fall and he’s big, long, fast. A lot of pass breakups. Can get a little handsy at times, but you know what, we used to say that about Joey Porter Jr. coming out of Penn State”.
He mentioned that his podcast co-host Rick Spielman isn’t overly concerned about handsy cornerbacks. Spielman told him, “That’s the easiest thing to fix. If you have a good defensive backs coach you can get rid of handsy players”.
Porter entered the NFL with a reputation for being handsy. He still has it, and for good reason. But as former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger said, “you live and die with it” because he makes plays. He did make some strides, but it is still a priority this offseason.
Mitchell certainly has the potential to be a long-term starter, perhaps an immediate starter. Whether he will be available when the Steelers pick, the next couple of months will determine. But he is the type of player they should look for, Wilson says. “You want guys who are aggressive, and Quinyon Mitchell came in and was shutting guys down”, he observed at the Senior Bowl.
He also offered some other names to consider, including Cam Hart from Notre Dame. Among the others that he mentioned are Auburn’s D.J. James and Nehemiah Pritchett, Kris Abrams-Draine out of Missouri, and Rutgers product Max Melton.
We have not yet gotten up profiles on any of these players, but all or most of them will certainly be coming in due time. Our draft scouting reports are consistently extensive and offer a broad overview of the Steelers’ options.
The Steelers certainly ought to explore their options at the cornerback position during the 2024 NFL Draft. With James Pierre, Levi Wallace, and Chandon Sullivan all pending free agents, they are simply thin. And most do not believe Peterson can withstand a full season on the outside any longer.
The Kansas City Chiefs showed how valuable having two quality cornerbacks can be. L’Jarius Sneed is a known commodity, but second-year man Trent McDuffie also played a critical role in their Super Bowl-repeat season. If the Steelers can draft another quality cornerback to pair with Porter, that can make a significant difference for years to come.
