The Pittsburgh Steelers needed a strong safety. Thursday, they added one with DeShon Elliott. He’s not the top name of the market the way Patrick Queen was. He didn’t have to be. All the team needed was someone solid and trustworthy to play in the box. Elliott can be that guy.
Due to injury and Damontae Kazee’s suspension, the Steelers finished last season with a revolving door of safeties., shifting Patrick Peterson, increasing Miles Killebrew’s role, signing Eric Rowe off the street. They made the best of a bad situation. Thrived, they did not, but they survived.
The Steelers get a pass for that. The chaos from that kind of depletion isn’t their fault. But their plan entering the year wasn’t sound. After Terrell Edmunds chose Philadelphia over Pittsburgh, the Steelers replaced him with Keanu Neal. The strategy? Instead of an every down safety, they tried a two-pronged approach. Neal as the classic box safety, a once-converted linebacker pushed back to the secondary, who would play in the team’s base 3-4 defense (which is very much alive and well, thank you for asking). Kazee would play in sub-packages, nickel and dime. On paper, it worked. Neal could play the run, Kazee could cover and play the pass.
But it banked on both players playing well and being available. That didn’t happen. Neal injured a rib during an interception against the Green Bay Packers in Week 10, missing the rest of the year. Meanwhile, Kazee was suspended for the year a few weeks later after his hit on Indianapolis Colts WR Michael Pittman.
And in nickel packages, with Kazee used as the post safety more than a box, it forced Fitzpatrick into the box at a far higher clip than usual. In 2022, 8.6 percent. In 2023? 23.6 percent. Fitzpatrick can handle the role, but it’s not where he’s best.
The other problem? Such a rotation doesn’t create chemistry with Fitzpatrick. Granted, Kazee wasn’t new to the team but Neal was. Fitzpatrick and Edmunds made for a solid duo while playing every down side-by-side for years. Fitzpatrick pulling the weight of it, obviously, but Edmunds could play in the box and attack the run while Fitzpatrick can hang back in coverage.
Elliott changes those dynamics. He’s a box type with the size to play near the line of scrimmage. And he’s been an every-down type, playing 91 and 94 percent of the defensive snaps (in game he’s been available for) the last two seasons. He’s not a game-changer, probably not a long-term option, and Pittsburgh could’ve aimed for a higher-upside name. But Elliott can do what the Steelers need him to do: serve as Pittsburgh’s strong safety, support the run and be the main man opposite Fitzpatrick. If you haven’t yet, check out Ross McCorkle’s film room breakdown. It shows how Elliott fits all the Steelers’ needs for a cheap price.
