One of the main stories of the summer for the Pittsburgh Steelers has been rookie CB Beanie Bishop Jr. Despite being undrafted, Bishop has seen the bulk of the starting reps for the slot corner position in training camp and got to be on the field with most of the starters in Friday night’s game against the Houston Texans.
Bishop had his struggles at times, but that is to be expected for an undrafted rookie playing his first NFL game. As Steelers Depot’s own Ross McCorkle noted in his rookie report, while Bishop had his struggles in coverage, he was physical against the run and able to make a few plays.
Today, Bishop was asked if he was able to play fast in his first tase of NFL action.
“Yeah, for sure,” Bishop said in an interview posted to Steelers.com. “Especially on the blitzes, I feel that I could have got home on one. But it’s just things that, you know, I watch film and correct those things. Obviously the team that we play next week, obviously you’re gonna have some things that show up, and just being able to have the opportunity to play fast after film study.”
While Bishop did not have the greatest game, he is still squarely in the hunt to be the Steelers’ starting slot corner, according to defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. In particular, Austin praised Bishop’s blitzing ability with him able to make a tackle on a run while he was blitzing and the near sack of Texans QB Davis Mills.
Bishop will have to improve his coverage skills. While the Steelers like their cornerbacks to be able to blitz and defend the run, if they are liabilities in the passing game then it will be hard to put them out there. While players do get beat at times and that is just part of the game, it can’t happen too often.
As Bishop said, there is film study to be done and more preseason games for which to prepare. He also did not have a bad game, just not a great game. He made four tackles, which is impressive for a slot cornerback who played only 20 defensive snaps. But when you get beat a few times in coverage that is also something that is a problem, especially in a pass-heavy league that is the NFL in the 2020s.
Bishop is a tough cornerback and Saturday’s game against the Buffalo Bills will be a big test in my opinion. While there is not too much game planning for preseason football, it will still be interesting to see how Bishop responds in his second preseason game. Will we see the same mistakes that he had this week, or will he clean them up a bit? By no means does Bishop have to be perfect — that doesn’t happen in the NFL — but do we see him have tighter coverage? Do we see him get a sack on a quarterback blitz?
As Austin said, Bishop still very much has a chance to win the starting slot cornerback role, but to do that he will have to continue to improve his play throughout the preseason.
