When the first depth chart was released last week ahead of the opening preseason game, the lone rookie listed as a starter was undrafted rookie CB Beanie Bishop Jr. This wasn’t a huge surprise given his involvement with the first-team defense throughout much of training camp, but rewind to the beginning of OTAs in the spring, and I don’t think many would have guessed Bishop to be the lone rookie starter on the depth chart.
He ended up playing 20 snaps on defense in the preseason game against the Houston Texans and had four total tackles. He didn’t jump off the screen in a positive or negative way, but the coaching staff seemed pleased with his overall performance. At least enough for him to be strongly considered for the starting slot corner job.
“Beanie’s a feisty little guy,” said defensive coordinator Teryl Austin in an interview before practice on Sunday via 93.7 The Fan on X. “You got a chance to see it when he came in there and blitzed on a run. One running back, he knocked him around a little bit. But it’s like anything, he’s got a ways to go in his game, but I think he’s right in the competition in terms of being in that hunt to be a starting nickel.”
The play that Austin is referring to is linked below. Bishop blitzes from the right side just outside the camera frame. He splits two blockers and gets just enough of the running back to make the tackle.
When Mike Tomlin has been asked about Bishop as the starting slot corner, he has repeatedly cautioned the media not to overanalyze things this early in camp. The second time he said that to the media, he followed it up by saying Bishop is in the mix to be a first and second-down guy to play against the run.
At 5091, 180 pounds, Bishop is undersized compared to much of his competition. He needs to prove that he can hold up against the run to be trusted as a rookie starter in the slot. According to Pro Football Focus, he earned a 79.7 tackling grade and a 63.1 run defense grade. That is a solid starting point for him in his first game action. Tomlin has said that he likes little guys who can hit, and Bishop appears to fit that description.
His primary competition entering camp was CB Josiah Scott. He has since been released by the team. That leaves Grayland Arnold and Thomas Graham Jr. as his two biggest competitors for the role. Those two combined for just 13 total snaps in this preseason game. Cam Sutton is also in the mix, but he is suspended for the first eight games of the season.
As Tomlin continues to fend off media questions about Bishop being the starting slot, Austin all but confirmed that it is a definite possibility. Given Troy Fautanu’s injury, Beanie Bishop could be the only rookie starter when the season begins, though Zach Frazier also has a chance at center.
