The Pittsburgh Steelers have a laundry list of areas to improve after the 2024 NFL season. Sitting near the top of that list is cornerback, a position the team has been looking for stability at for several years. That’s not to say they haven’t tried their hand at fixing it, this past season the Steelers shipped out wideout Dionate Johnson to Carolina in exchange for corner Donte Jackson.
On the surface, the returns weren’t too bad with Jackson snagging a career high five interceptions, but down-the-stretch of the year his play fell off a cliff, leaving the team vulnerable opposite Joey Porter Jr. This, along with the Steelers lack of a true nickel, has the team poised to select a cornerback early in the draft, possibly even in the first round. However, that’s not something Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette advises.
“I’m not in the camp of going defensive back high again this year,” said Batko on a recent episode of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Now. “I mean, the Steelers still have Joey Porter Jr. and to a lesser extent Cory Trice. I think they’re going to hit the free agent market at that position this year particularly, and I think it makes sense because what kind of player do you want to infuse to those two guys? I would say more than another young player figuring it out on the fly.”
Batko shared this opinion in response to a question regarding Michigan’s Will Johnson, widely considered to be a top-two corner in the class. In recent mock drafts. Johnson has slid and Batko was posed the question if the team should consider him at 21. While he did say it’s always good to get young corners on the team and that Johnson would warrant a look, he expressed his overall preference of signing a veteran instead, referencing the team’s recent history with Jackson, Patrick Peterson and Levi Wallace.
While none of those names necessarily instill a lot of hope into Steelers fans when looking at the corner free agent pool, this year’s crop of talent should yield better results. D.J. Reed, Charvarius Ward, and Carlton Davis all profile to be good running mates for Porter on the boundary. Additionally, they allow the team to wait until the third or fourth round before selecting a corner in the draft. Maybe a once highly-touted guy like Notre Dame’s Benjamin Morrison sees a bit of a fall due to a concerning hip injury and the Steelers can cash in on a later round gem, while still addressing other needs in the earlier rounds.
As of now, I find it unlikely Johnson would fall to the Steelers in the draft, and lean with Batko that the team is better addressing the position in free agency.
