The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t sign a big group of undrafted free agents this year, but one player they brought in is making an impact. Beanie Bishop Jr. Bishop is currently listed as the starter at slot corner for Pittsburgh, and assistant GM Andy Weidl said he’s a player the Steelers have had their eye on for a long time.
“I just think you saw the energy and the speed he played with, and the physicality. He’s a guy that ran to it. His aggressiveness, we got to know him through the draft process. We identified him; he went to the Big 12 Combine, ran a really good time, and it matched up with the tape. And as we got to know him, we said this is a Steeler-type of guy. A Steeler-type of guy, a Steeler-type of player. Is he perfect? No, but he’s out here competing his tail off, he’s aggressive, he’s physical, he’s another player we feel is an arrow-up guy,” Weidl said in a press conference today via the team’s YouTube channel.
Bishop ran a Big 12 Combine-best 4.39 40-yard dash, but his production at West Virginia matched what Pittsburgh saw. He led the country in pass breakups last season and was named an All-American, and so far in camp, he’s impressed the Steelers with his ability in the slot and looks to be in line to start the season as the starting slot corner.
Bishop said he’s watched a lot of Mike Hilton tape and tries to play like him, and Hilton was really the last consistently good slot corner that Pittsburgh had on their roster. Both Hilton and Bishop were undrafted, and if Bishop can develop similarly to how Hilton did for Pittsburgh, he’ll be a heck of a pickup as an undrafted free agent.
Weidl and former Steelers scout Mike Butler, who just retired this offseason, saw Bishop and West Virginia play against BYU during the season (a game they also got eyes on Zach Frazier), and in that game against BYU, Bishop had five tackles and a season-high five pass breakups. That performance may have helped put him further on Pittsburgh’s radar, and he also played well throughout practices and during the East-West Shrine Bowl. With a need at slot corner, the Steelers were able to bring him in as an undrafted free agent.
He’s been one of the team’s standouts throughout camp, and it’s rare that an undrafted free agent is listed as a starter on the opening depth chart. While that also has to do with the lack of depth that Pittsburgh has at the position, with Cameron Sutton suspended and now Grayland Arnold on IR, it’s also a testament to how Bishop has looked throughout the offseason and the work he’s put in. It wouldn’t be a surprise at all if he’s Pittsburgh’s slot corner to open the season, and it’s going to be interesting to watch his development and see if he can become a long-term piece for Pittsburgh.
