While the Pittsburgh Steelers need offensive help, their defense is not a finished product either. To begin with, they need to find a starting cornerback, unless they re-sign Donte Jackson, who is a pending free agent. In recent years, the team has not shied away from the veteran path at the position, perhaps a reflection of their struggles to draft and develop.
But CBS NFL Draft analyst Ryan Wilson offered two cornerbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft who fit the Steelers. He appeared on 93.7 The Fan this week to discuss the team, and he emphasized cornerbacks and the defensive line.
“Some names that keep coming back to me as ‘Steelers players’, Jahdae Barron, the cornerback/nickel out of Texas”, Wilson said. “He just feels like a Steeler. I think he’s gonna be there in the 20s. He’s got a little Brian Branch to his game. He’s gonna run better than Brian, probably. Brian ran a 4.58 and that’s why he lasted until the second round. But he’s a guy that you feel like you slide him in right away and you can hit the ground running. He’s always around the ball. He has ball skills”.
Handily, we already have a scouting report up for Barron, with Jonathan Heitritter projecting him as a Day 2 pick. Earlier this month, Wilson already mocked Barron to the Steelers, so that is hardly a surprise. But he also offered another name.
“I live in a world where maybe Will Johnson, the Michigan corner, slips a little bit and maybe there’s a conversation to be had there,” Wilson said. “Because then [the Steelers] have two big corners in Joey Porter Jr. and Will Johnson. He was injured for much of the year at Michigan, and we’ll see what happens in terms of the testing and all that”.
We also have a draft profile up for Will Johnson, written by Efram Geller. He projects Wilson to go in the first round, a top-10 selection. But as the Steelers know, lots of things can happen before then. Leading up to the 2023 NFL Draft, many questioned if Joey Porter Jr. would last until their first-round pick. They ended up drafting him in the second round, albeit at the top of it.
Still, there’s no ignoring the fact that the Steelers have plenty of holes to fill. Many want them to use their first-round pick on a defensive lineman, though this is a deep class. Wilson believes the Steelers could find an immediate contributor there on Day 2, maybe even Day 3.
If the Steelers were to go the veteran free agency route to address cornerback, they could end up paying more than they would like. That is typically not a cheap position, but their track record with draft picks makes it more tempting. Porter has been a hit so far, but even he has considerable room to grow in Year 3.
