The Pittsburgh Steelers have a major hole at slot corner right now with Chandon Sullivan and Patrick Peterson, the team’s two primary slot corners last season, currently free agents. At the AFC Coaches breakfast at the annual NFL Owners Meetings, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said that the position is one that everyone is looking for and talked about the difference between how it’s played in the NFL and college.
“You know, we got some candidates, but obviously we’re probably still looking. I think that’s a position that we’re all looking for and looking at annually because some of the demands that come at that position in the NFL are somewhat different than in college,” Tomlin said via Steelers.com. “In college man, often times that guy is a safety-like guy. The coverage is so significant in the NFL that most of the time that guy’s a corner-like guy. So I think we’re all kind of scouring that position annually and seeing what’s available in terms of ready-made talent and so forth.”
With the NFL more widely geared toward the passing game than the college game and the abundance of talented players, guys who play safety or even on the outside in college may move into the slot in the NFL. There aren’t many true, defined slot corners who come out of the draft, which makes it tougher to evaluate when deciding a player’s fit at the next level. One slot corner whom the Steelers have interest in is Michigan’s Mike Sainristil. They held a formal meeting with him at the NFL Scouting Combine and also met with ahead of his Pro Day last week.
The Steelers also aren’t ruling out a reunion with Peterson, but if signed, it’s unlikely he’d be their primary option in the slot. He’s older and hasn’t had a ton of experience there despite playing the position some for the Steelers last season, but another option to come in and take the majority of the snaps in the slot is probably preferable for Pittsburgh.
The Steelers’ cornerback room still needs work despite the addition of Donte Jackson in the Diontae Johnson trade, as behind Jackson and Joey Porter Jr., there just isn’t much experience or guys the Steelers can truly rely on. While Darius Rush and Cory Trice Jr. have potential, Rush played sparingly as a rookie while Trice is recovering from a torn ACL suffered in training camp last season.
Neither guy should be counted on to play a major role, and neither of them would be options in the slot, regardless. While center and wide receiver have gotten a lot of attention as major needs for the Steelers, cornerback, and particularly slot corner, is one that’s going to need to be addressed, and the Steelers are seemingly doing their due diligence to find the best fit for what they want and need.
