The Pittsburgh Steelers have long been built on their defense, and the AFC North as a whole has a reputation as a physical, gritty division. But the top two contenders, the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals, boast lots of offensive firepower. The Bengals are led by QB Joe Burrow, and WRs Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, while Baltimore has QB Lamar Jackson, RB Derrick Henry, and WRs Zay Flowers and free agent pickup DeAndre Hopkins.
With Cincinnati making an effort to retain both Higgins and Chase and the Ravens signing Hopkins, Steelers analyst Max Starks said on SiriusXM NFL Radio’s The Blitz that the Steelers’ trade for CB Jalen Ramsey makes sense to help combat some of the receivers they’ll face twice a year.
“I think we’ve been looking for that opposite corner for Joey Porter Jr., and I think Jalen Ramsey makes perfect sense. Especially when you think about what the lineups are gonna look like now in the AFC North coming up this season, with what the Bengals have done with signing both of their receivers. Didn’t think Tee Higgins was gonna stay there, but he’s there now.”
“So you got two issues to deal with, DeAndre Hopkins now enters the Ravens’ wide receiver room,” Starks said. “I think when you kind of look at those things, it makes sense why you want to pair up the dual cornerbacks with dual wide receivers.”
The Steelers focused on improving their secondary in free agency with the additions of Darius Slay and Brandin Echols, but they felt they could do more, hence why they traded for Ramsey. Last season, in Pittsburgh’s Week 18 matchup against the Bengals, the team had to rely on CB Cory Trice Jr. to cover Ja’Marr Chase. Chase finished the game with 10 receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown.
Now, with Ramsey and Slay joining Porter, the Steelers shouldn’t have such a drastic mismatch at cornerback. While Hopkins’ best football is likely behind him, he’s a nice fit in a Ravens’ wide receiver room, which also features Rashod Bateman in addition to Flowers. Now the Steelers have the personnel to match up against not only their receivers, but TE Mark Andrews as well.
Pittsburgh is fighting the offensive firepower in their division by building a cornerback room that should be among the league’s best. While the team might miss S Minkah Fitzpatrick, who was dealt in exchange for Ramsey and Jonnu Smith, Pittsburgh clearly felt that adding Ramsey was worth it. They can move him around the field, and having a versatile chess piece can help them be more competitive against some of the talented offenses they’re going to face.
The Steelers have shown they’re serious about competing in 2025, and with Aaron Rodgers leading the offense, Pittsburgh not only added a weapon for him in Smith but a player who can be a leader and key contributor in the secondary. For a team that’s usually led by its defense, the Steelers struggled down the stretch on that side of the ball. With the additions of Jalen Ramsey and Slay, along with first-round pick Derrick Harmon, they’re clearly trying to get back to their roots as a team that makes it a struggle for opponents to move the ball.
