Buy Or Sell: Donte Jackson is the Steelers’ most overlooked starter.
Explanation: The Steelers gave up significant resources in order to bring in Donte Jackson. The veteran cornerback cost them a former Pro Bowl starting wide receiver in Diontae Johnson, so they believe in him. Not a lot of fans do, however, or at least they are being extremely cautious.
Buy:
The Steelers don’t need Donte Jackson to be a star, but he will help to really solidify the defense. He could be the Steven Nelson to their Joe Haden, after dealing with Patrick Peterson and Levi Wallace. Now with Joey Porter Jr. locking up one spot, Jackson gives them a very legitimate tandem.
We should not overlook that at all, especially given how important the cornerback position is, including in the AFC North. Pretty much all of the Steelers’ other starters either get the attention they deserve or haven’t earned it yet. With Jackson coming over from a bad team in a bad market, we simply don’t know him. But he will prove to be that missing piece the defense needed to shore up the weakest link.
And in case you need to have this pointed out, no, we’re not including specialists here. But Chris Boswell is a great at his position, Cameron Johnston is Bill Burr, and Christian Kuntz is us.
Sell:
In a lot of cases, admittedly, we don’t even know who the starters are, especially along the offensive line. The wide receiver position is a jumble. But don’t look past Elandon Roberts and DeShon Elliott, who play less attention-getting positions. Donte Jackson plays opposite Porter, but Roberts also has to play with Patrick Queen. And Elliott? Well, he plays in Minkah Fitzpatrick’s shadow now. Ryan Clark fought hard for his reputation as Troy Polamalu’s straight man, a testament to how good he was. Elliott will be the Steelers’ best starting strong safety since Ryan Clark. Jackson will be just a good, solid starting cornerback, at best, and potentially worse than that.
With the Steelers’ 2023 season in the rearview mirror following a disappointing year that came up short in the playoffs once again, it’s time to start asking more questions. Questions about the team’s future in 2024 and beyond. Questions about The Standard.
The rookie class of a year ago was on the whole impressive, but they need to step up into staple starters in 2024. And they needed a strong influx of talent in both free agency and in the 2024 NFL Draft yet again. In addition to a revisitation of the coaching staff.
These sorts of uncertainties are what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
