The Pittsburgh Steelers made several major changes to their roster this offseason. The most notable of those was the complete overhaul of their quarterback room, but one sneaky area they made upgrades at was the secondary. Last year, Joey Porter Jr. was an ascending player and Minkah Fitzpatrick was as advertised when he was healthy, but the rest of that group was shaky. To compensate, the Steelers added safety DeShon Elliott and corner Donte Jackson. Both veteran players should be immediate contributors for the Steelers, and it seems like that group is beginning to jell too.
In a video on Twitter from Aaron Becker of Yardbarker, Elliott spoke about his initial impressions of Jackson, praising the new Steelers corner.
“I think me and Donte are ones who really talk smack in a secondary, so it’s good to have somebody else back there who’s going to make some noise after a big play,” Elliott said. “I appreciate the way he’s been working. He’s a vet. He knows what he’s been doing. We both came in the same year. He’s seen a lot of ball, played a lot of ball. He’s played at a high level, so what he is doing is what I expect.”
Both Elliott and Jackson came into the league in the 2018 draft but have had very different paths since then. Jackson was drafted in the second round by the Carolina Panthers and spent his whole career there. Elliott, on the other hand, was drafted in the sixth round by the Baltimore Ravens and has bounced around between a few different teams since then. However, both have shown that they can be solid NFL starters, and that’s all the Steelers need from them.
Elliott’s praise of Jackson is warranted too. While Jackson hasn’t been a Pro Bowl player, he has been consistent. Last year was actually his first year without an interception, but before that, he had multiple takeaways every year. He’s also reportedly had a strong start to Steelers camp, which is a good sign that he will continue to be a solid player.
Porter made sure to mention how much he appreciates Jackson’s trash talk as well, a trait that fans will hopefully see a lot of this year. The two of them should give the Steelers a strong duo at corner, even if the slot position is slightly weaker at the moment. With Elliott and Fitzpatrick manning both safety positions, the Steelers’ secondary should be less of a weakness this year than it has been. They’ve really struggled to limit explosive plays, so hopefully the new veterans help change that this year.
