A year ago, strong safety DeShon Elliott didn’t draw the headlines. He wasn’t the flashiest name nor biggest addition. Linebacker Patrick Queen landed a far larger contract. Quarterback Russell Wilson dominated national media roundtables. But by the time 2024 ended, DeShon Elliott could be argued as the Pittsburgh Steelers most shrewd and best offseason pickup. One the Steelers need to keep finding.
Monday night, Elliott inked a multi-year extension with the team, keeping him in Pittsburgh well beyond the two-year, $6 million deal he signed ahead of last season. Without question, he overplayed that tiny contract. Appearing in 15 games, he was a strong and sturdy tackler capable of laying big hits. He wasn’t reckless and made sure his impactful collisions didn’t come at risk of missing the runner.
Our Josh Carney charted him for a single missed tackle. Pro Football Reference put him down for a 2.7-percent miss rate, lowest of the 53 NFL players who registered triple-digit tackles, as Elliott did with his 108.
Those metrically inclined will appreciate the top-ten run defense grade Pro Football Focus gave Elliott. He ranked tied with the Buffalo Bills’ Taylor Rapp for the top tackling grade, an elite 90.6. No safety over the last two seasons has graded higher.
A classic box safety with the exact skillset needed to thrive, Elliott was fearless and downhill. He read plays well, attacked, and finished. Runners simply didn’t escape his grasp.
Elliott isn’t elite in coverage but made a handful of plays, including an interception in the season opener. He was consistent and trusted and missed in the two games he missed with an injury. Numbers paint a broad picture but in the 15 games with Elliott, Pittsburgh allowed 17.4 points and 88.5 rushing yards per game. In the two without, those numbers spiked to 30.5 points and 175.5 rushing yards per game. Night and day difference.
Aside from the odd social media gaffe, Elliott quietly went around his business. He understood Steelers’ culture from his first press conference, needing no time to buy into what Pittsburgh asked him to do.
Elliott bar-raiser, frustrated and expecting more during the team’s losing streak. Airing public grievances might not have been the optimal path but he won’t shrink to a moment or call out what needs to be done to win. He’s not nor will he ever be a star, but he’s a niche player who knows his role and does it at a consistently high level.
That’s the type of signing Pittsburgh needs more of. The under-the-radar free agent pickup on a cheap contract that the Steelers maximize. Even Elliott’s extension is an economical deal that now locks him up beyond 2025, taking strong safety off the team’s potential list of needs in 2026. List of internal replacements were thin. A big splash has its place and the Steelers have been more aggressive in that regard.
But most of a roster is made up of small and mid-level deals. Find the player who maybe wasn’t the right fit elsewhere but has a perfect place in your team’s system. Pittsburgh found that in DeShon Elliott. It’s the model the team must follow in the free agencies to follow.
