As a whole, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense has been in great form. It’s taken a total team effort to manage that with players at each position. Coming into the season, Pittsburgh looked weak at the slot corner position. Fortunately, Beanie Bishop Jr. has been a pleasant surprise.
As an undrafted rookie, Bishop hasn’t been perfect but far better than anybody expected. His coming out party occurred against the New York Jets earlier in the season in which he intercepted Aaron Rodgers twice, receiving some souvenirs in the process.
As is typical for any undrafted rookie, it takes some time to develop confidence in the league. Bishop’s taken on a large role on the defense, and being thrown into the fire has likely instilled some of that confidence. However, his teammate Damontae Kazee has been a big help as well, as Bishop explained on the DVE Morning Show on Friday.
“Talking to Kazee, he’s been a big help, honestly, as far as being confident and things like that,” Bishop said. “I was already a pretty confident player. But talking to him, and the way he approaches things, just telling me ‘man, it’s just football. You’ve been playing football your whole life.’ Especially leading up to the Jets game…I just feel that I didn’t get here for no reason.”
Developing confidence is a must for any rookie, let alone one that went undrafted. It sounds like Bishop naturally feels that way, but it’s nice to hear that Kazee has been such a help. At the age of 31, Kazee is now one of the veterans on the roster, so it’s good to see him take on that role with a younger player like Bishop.
Bishop’s been targeted 58 times this season and has given up 33 completions. He’s got three interceptions, all of which came in that two week stretch when the Steelers hosted both New York teams. Bishop has also knocked down six passes on the year and has allowed just a 61.3 passer rating when targeted.
With Cam Sutton returning from injury, playing time is being split between the two. Bishop isn’t necessarily the Steelers long-term answer at the position just yet. Still, he’s been a whole lot better than they expected. Kazee helping him remain confident goes to show how unified the Steelers’ locker room is, and how much a veteran can truly help a younger player along.
