The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a number of great cornerbacks throughout their franchise’s history, from the likes of Mel Blount to Rod Woodson, Carnell Lake and even Ike Taylor.
In the last decade or so though, the position has been a sore spot. Players like Valentino Blake, Artie Burns, Cortez Allen, William Gay, Joe Haden and Cameron Sutton have held roles since then, some doing much better than others.
But just when it seemed like the Steelers found some stability with Sutton and Levi Wallace at the position, not to mention Arthur Maulet, things changed drastically this past offseason. Sutton left in free agency, Maulet was released and in came Patrick Peterson and Chandon Sullivan in free agency and Joey Porter Jr. in the draft.
At times, the position was solid. More often than not though, outside of Porter, guys really struggled. It’s a major position of need again moving forward. But thankfully there is a building block in Porter.
Now that the season is behind us, it’s a time for reflection and analysis, and that will focus on my Steelers positional season grades. Today, we’ll review the cornerbacks, taking an individual look at the six players who saw snaps at the position in Porter, Peterson, Wallace, Sullivan, James Pierre, and Darius Rush.
Steelers’ Positional Grades Season Review: QBs
Steelers’ Positional Grades Season Review: RBs
Steelers’ Positional Grades Season Review: WRs
Steelers’ Positional Grades Season Review: TEs
Steelers’ Positional Grades Season Review: OTs
Steelers’ Positional Grades Season Review: OGs
Steelers’ Positional Grades Season Review: C
Steelers’ Positional Grades Season Review: DEs
Steelers’ Positional Grades Season Review: NTs
Steelers’ Positional Grades Season Review: OLBs
Steelers’ Positional Grades Season Review: ILBs
JOEY PORTER JR.: GRADE — A-
The Steelers slow-played Joey Porter Jr., much to my own chagrin. In the end though, it paid off in a major way. After being inserted into the starting lineup in Week Eight against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Porter took off as a true, No. 1 shutdown cornerback.
Porter’s length and physicality in coverage stood out right away. He was able to take away top receivers throughout the season, handling the top matchups weekly in impressive fashion. He had a pivotal interception in Week Five against the Baltimore Ravens in the end zone in a 17-10 win, which was his only interception of the season. Outside of that though he clamped down on receivers time and time again. The only time he really struggled in coverage was against Seattle’s DK Metcalf in Week 17.
His tackling improved after a slow start, and though he had some issue with penalties in coverage late in the season, he finished on a high note against the Buffalo Bills. The future looks incredibly bright for Porter. It appears that the Steelers have hit a home run at the position in landing Porter in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
PATRICK PETERSON: GRADE — C-
From my perspective, Peterson was much better this season at safety than he was at cornerback. After signing a two-year deal in free agency and coming over from the Minnesota Vikings, Peterson got off to a slow start. He allowed two touchdowns in the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers and then really struggled at times against the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Rams.
Then, things seemed to stabilize for the veteran. Playing in more of a hybrid role, moving around and not dealing with the top matchup weekly at 33 years old, helped Peterson find his game again. Then, when injuries struck Peterson was able to slide into a role at safety, giving the Steelers some good reps there.
On the year, Peterson played 97% of the Steelers’ defensive snaps. He graded out at a 60.5 overall from Pro Football Focus, including a 56.5 against the run and a 61.4 in coverage. He was charged with allowing 31 receptions for 388 yards and four touchdowns on the season, finishing with two interceptions.
We’ll see if he returns for a second season in the Black and Gold in 2024.
LEVI WALLACE: GRADE — D
After putting together a strong first season in 2022 with the Steelers, Wallace took a massive step backwards in 2023. Wallace played 726 snaps on the season, and though he recorded two interceptions and 11 passes defensed, Wallace was a major liability in pass coverage.
Wallace allowed 40 receptions for 569 yards and six touchdowns on 75 targets, giving up a career-worst 93.7 QB rating against when targeted in coverage. Though he allowed a reception on just 53.3% of targets, he gave up big plays consistently and had teams going after him constantly when he was on the field.
Wallace finished the year with a grade of 57.8 from PFF. He is slated to hit free agency, and though the Steelers could bring him back on a cheap deal as veteran depth, it seems like the business pairing has run its course. Time to move on.
CHANDON SULLIVAN: GRADE — C
Signed as a free agent to help in the slot, Chandon Sullivan got off to a slow start after winning a training camp battle. Once he settled in though, things were fine with Sullivan.
The former Vikings cornerback logged just 422 defensive snaps but played some solid football late in the season. Sullivan recorded one interception, one forced fumble and had six passes defended in limited action on the season. While he had some issues against the run, Sullivan got better down the stretch in coverage.
His interception occurred in Week 11 against the Cleveland Browns, and then he had a pass breakup in Weeks 16 and 17, helping the Steelers win key games down the stretch to get into the playoffs. He is slated to hit free agency as well, and the Steelers will likely move on from him. While he was solid late in the season, that doesn’t cover up the issues he had early on in the year.
JAMES PIERRE: GRADE — C-
James Pierre’s time in Pittsburgh might have come to an end in 2023. The former undrafted free agent out of Florida Atlantic played just 26 snaps defensively one year after starting six games over the previous two seasons, recording an interception in 2021 and 2022.
Pierre was a valuable special teams piece for the Steelers, but he just simply wasn’t in the picture defensively. When on the field, Pierre allowed two receptions for 18 yards and didn’t record a pass defensed. The Steelers could theoretically do business with Pierre another year as experienced depth, but he’ll be 28 and didn’t see the field on a defense that had a number of injuries in the secondary on the year.
DARIUS RUSH: GRADE — C+
I loved the move in the middle of the season to sign Darius Rush off of the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad, putting another promising rookie talent into the position. Rush looked good in extended action against the Tennessee Titans in Week Nine, recording three tackles playing in sub-package football, nearly recording the game-clinching interception late in the game.
But after that, Rush saw the field defensively for just nine other snaps, all coming in Week 12 on the road against Cincinnati. He was a healthy scratch the rest of the way.
Maybe it was hard for Rush to jump on the moving train midway through the season. Hopefully he gets a longer look in the offseason, training camp and the preseason. He was very talented with great traits coming out of college, and then flashed in extended action in Week Nine. He might be that sleeper, but his rookie season with the Steeles left me wanting to see him more.
