The Pittsburgh Steelers only drafted one defensive back, but they’re hoping to hit on more than one rookie this year with Beanie Bishop Jr. out of West Virginia. The Kentucky native signed with the Steelers as a college free agent, part of a rather small class of them.
And Chad Reuter believes that the Steelers landed a good one. He ranks Bishop as the top college free agent cornerback, over Jarius Monroe, Charlton Johnson, and Storm Duck, among others. Several of those players listed have yet to sign with any teams, though many may still. Some may have accepted multiple rookie minicamp invitations, for example.
Bishop lacks size at 5-9, 180 pounds, but he pops off the tape. He certainly did last season with four interceptions and a nation-leading 24 passes defensed. The Steelers and head coach Mike Tomlin always covet such players with ball skills. Many years ago, they took a chance on a tackling-averse safety named Gerod Holliman.
While Bishop has obvious limitations given his size, he is a willing tackler. At least he tries, even if he has certain struggles with angles and leverage. And he has shortcomings in coverage as well—after all, there’s a reason that nobody drafted him.
But he is still a player to watch this offseason, particularly as the Steelers search for assistance in the slot. Assuming Donte Jackson starts outside, it’s really hard to say who even is their slot defender right now. The odds are they aren’t done here. They signed Chandon Sullivan—who is still available—around this time last year, after all.
Reuter did not expand on his rankings at all, in case you wondered. He simply ranked long lists of prospects at multiple positions, with Bishop as the top cornerback. He also ranked two other Steelers college free agents, with QB John Rhys Plumlee 12th and RB Daijun Edwards 18 at their respective positions.
At least as of this writing, the Steelers only signed five college free agents, including OLB Julius Welschof and ILB Jacoby Windmon. They have several rookies coming in for tryouts during rookie minicamp, and they currently have multiple roster spots available.
While the Steelers traded for Jackson and added Ryan Watts in the sixth round, they still lack secondary depth. They have Joey Porter Jr. opposite Jackson at cornerback, but Cory Trice Jr. and Darius Rush are untested. Count on them at your own peril.
And the problem is none of them are slot-capable players, barring Jackson, and even that is a projection. The slot defender is a starting position in today’s NFL, so that is Beanie Bishop’s opportunity to push for the roster.
He also aids his cause with extensive work on special teams during his college career, not dissimilar to Mike Hilton. But even Hilton spent a year in the league before making a team. It’s not easy out there, but for Bishop, at least the Steelers potentially have room for him on the roster. And on the depth chart, as well.
