Despite signing a trio of veterans in cornerbacks Darius Slay and Brandin Echols, and safety Juan Thornhill, pairing that trio with some key pieces on the roster like safeties Minkah Fitzpatrick and DeShon Elliott, and cornerback Joey Porter Jr. to strength the secondary, longtime Steelers’ beat writer Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is a bit down on the position group as a whole.
Appearing on the 590 AM and 101.1 FM WMBS radio show with George Von Benko Saturday morning, Fittipaldo stated that he doesn’t believe the Steelers did enough to address a position of need, despite the three offseason additions, as well as a draft pick and a new secondary coach.
“Yeah, listen, I’m kind of down on them not doing more to address the secondary. I think they’re fine with [Minkah] Fitzpatrick and DeShon Elliott. Obviously you need more production out of Fitzpatrick. But Darius Slay is 34 years old, kind of a stop gap move. They weren’t really strong at corner last year,” Fittipaldo said of the Steelers’ secondary and the team not doing enough there, according to video via the show. “Joey Porter Jr., I thought he was okay, nothing special. So I had some questions about their corners and it’s not really gonna be any different next year. Slay is here on a one-year deal.
“They have to go out and sign somebody else or draft somebody, and we’ll see if the 2026 draft is better with corners this year than it was last year. It just didn’t seem like they liked any of the corners in this previous draft.”
On the surface, it seemed like the cornerback position was an area of need for the Steelers entering the offseason. But once the team signed Slay to the one-year deal and added Echols for depth and versatility, they seemed to like what they had with the mix of Porter, Cory Trice Jr., Beanie Bishop Jr., and James Pierre, not to mention bottom of the roster guys like Cameron McCutcheon, Kyler McMichael and D’Shawn Jamison.
That didn’t stop them from drafting Donte Kent in the seventh round though, giving Pittsburgh another dynamic option in the slot with good ball skills and explosive athleticism.
It might not be the strongest room on paper, but the pieces all seem to fit together. Slay might be a one-year stop-gap, but he showed during his time in Philadelphia last season that he can still play at a high level, while Porter and Trice had flashes in Year 2 with their size and length that could make them dangerous moving forward.
Pierre fits as the good special teams piece and can handle boundary corner work in a pinch, while Bishop had some great moments in the slot last year as a rookie. McCutcheon and McMichael bring good size, too, while Jamison is a great athlete that can play inside or outside.
The Steelers have to feel great about safety, too, even with Fitzpatrick coming off of another down season lacking splash plays. Elliott was a force for the Steelers defensively and was vastly underrated, while Thornhill brings plenty of experience and versatility to the table, providing an upgrade over Damontae Kazee in three-safety sets.
Pittsburgh might not have made huge splashes in the secondary this offseason, which could contribute to Fittipaldo believing they didn’t do enough. But things look much better on paper in the secondary under new coach Gerald Alexander than he’s giving them credit for entering training camp.
