The Pittsburgh Steelers’ “core four” in the secondary of CBs Joey Porter Jr. and Donte Jackson along with FS Minkah Fitzpatrick and SS DeShon Elliott is solid. A group you can definitely win with. If this was 1981, the Steelers would be in good shape. But in 2024, it’s a passing league where five DBs on the field are more common than not and depth is routinely tested.
That’s where Pittsburgh falls short. A slot corner position still in flux and currently manned by just one player, rookie UDFA Beanie Bishop Jr. It’s asking a lot to have him be the all-situations slot cornerback. Pittsburgh might return to its tried-and-true committee approach and enter Week 1 how it began Day 1 of training camp. A combination of Bishop and DeShon Elliott.
Based on who the team has, it’s the most logical outcome. Bishop had a good camp but wasn’t often tested in coverage and battled injuries, limiting his in-stadium work. He’s best suited in a run-down role, the same one Arthur Maulet and Chandon Sullivan held the past two seasons. Bishop is aggressive and feisty and can tackle, making him the best option for those situations.
Elliott is the cover man. He’s not as natural as would be ideal but told reporters early in camp that he spent the offseason honing his slot skills. There’s size to match up against the bigger slot receivers and experience that can compensate for some of the natural skill set. He’ll rotate down in dime packages or in nickel for obvious passing moments. In that world, Damontae Kazee and Cory Trice Jr. would come on as the additional defense backs. Kazee taking Elliott’s safety spot, Trice in a dime role closer to the line of scrimmage.
Having Elliott here is also useful for the Steelers’ post-snap rotations I reference in my article advocating for Patrick Peterson. Being able to spin Fitzpatrick down while having someone you can trust to cover if, say, you want to run Cover 2 but drop Fitzpatrick down over the middle of the field. It’s another element Bishop won’t bring out of the gate.
Unless the team adds an outside player, which remains possible, this is the team’s best plan. But is it a good plan? That remains to be seen. The problem is Elliott doesn’t feel solid in coverage. He struggled matching up with TE Pat Freiermuth in camp and he lacks the twitch and change-of-direction ability to reliably cover the whole field and route tree. Elliott wins by being physical and getting his hands on guys, not by matching them step for step on a post route.
But right now, the team doesn’t have a strong alternative. Unless that changes, the Steelers will enter the season with another underwhelming committee approach. Maybe next year they’ll make the proper investment to find the full-time slot cornerback that they’ve lacked since losing Mike Hilton.
