The Pittsburgh Steelers selected DB Ryan Watts in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. They still don’t seem quite sure about how or where to use him—but that’s also part of his appeal. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin laid out a sort of preliminary vision for the rookie yesterday.
“What I really like about Ryan is the fact that we’ve got a guy that’s got a corner background and now he can be a guy as a safety that can come down and play on a receiving tight end”, Austin said, via the team’s website. “He can play in the slot. He can do a lot of different things”.
At 6-3, 212 pounds, Ryan Watts qualifies as a “size prospect” in the defensive backfield. While he played cornerback in college, the Steelers have already spent time running him at safety. Talk about him playing in the slot is reminiscent of approaches they have taken in the past with other tall cornerbacks.
It really started under Mike Tomlin with Cortez Allen, whom he broke out in 2011 as a dime defender. Tomlin also flirted with using Justin Gilbert and Al-Hajj Shabazz as a slot defender covering tight ends. But Watts has a long way to go before he can earn such a role.
He has to start, for one thing, by earning a spot on the 53-man roster. The Steelers already have a pretty full house at the position, and they have only added to it since the draft. There should be a spirited competition in the secondary during training camp this year, without question.
But Austin is confident in Watts’ ability to hold his own within that competition. “He is long and tall. He’s like Joey [Porter Jr.], he’s like [Cory Trice Jr.], but he can play inside”, he said. “And I know he’s physical as a corner. He was physical at Texas”.
Since last season, the Steelers parted with much of their secondary. They released Patrick Peterson and Keanu Neal while allowing Levi Wallace, Chandon Sullivan, and James Pierre to walk. They added DeShon Elliott at safety and return Minkah Fitzpatrick, Porter, Trice, and Darius Rush. In addition to Watts, they signed Beanie Bishop Jr. as a college free agent, and have since signed Cameron Sutton.
For his part, Austin said that Bishop and Watts are “adapting well” from the college level, but he remains cautious. “I lay the groundwork and then hope that thing carries on once we put on pads”, he said. “Because sometimes you put on pads and guys disappear. You don’t know what happened to them”.
The reality for players like Ryan Watts is that their immediate future comes on special teams. He probably has an advantage as a larger defensive back, given the new kickoff rules. The combination of size and speed should suit him well in that regard, and he brings a special teams background. Once he has his foot in the door, he can start worrying about what role he can find on defense.
