The Pittsburgh Steelers love to play base defense. That’s what we think of when we think of a Steelers defense. Tough, physical, and stop the run. But last year, the Steelers saw a marked uptick in nickel usage, up over 20-percent from 2023. And could the addition of CB Jalen Ramsey make that shift more permanent in 2025?
That’s the question NFL film guru Greg Cosell is asking after the trade. He broke down the trade on Wednesday’s episode of The Install with Greg Cosell, and he wonders if more nickel snaps are in line thanks to the trio of corners now on the roster.
“When you look at Darius Slay and Joey Porter [Jr.], is Ramsey going to play in their base defense?” Cosell asked. “Is he only going to play in nickel? Are they going to play a lot more nickel now? Because Ramsey is sort of a combo slot corner or linebacker, and he’s certainly big enough to be a tackler, and he’s good at it… You can take a team like the Buffalo Bills as an example. The Buffalo Bills play nickel on a very, very high percentage of snaps. I mean, I’m talking 95, 96, 97 percent of their snaps. Will this be the case with the Pittsburgh Steelers so Jalen Ramsey, Slay, and Porter are always on the field?”
The Steelers were in nickel quite a lot last year. In fact, they were playing in a sub-package on 73.3-percent of their defensive snaps last year. That’s the highest percentage dating back to at least 2015. There is certainly a trend there that they are willing to change up their defensive structure more.
But would the Steelers really go as far as the Bills, like Cosell highlighted? Part of the Bills’ ability to play nickel as essentially their base defense is their slot CB Taron Johnson. He’s undersized, listed at 5-11 and 192 pounds on the Bills’ roster. But he is an incredibly physical player in coverage and against the run.
That’s what Cosell envisions Jalen Ramsey as – a cornerback who is able to make plays both against the run and the pass. Now, Ramsey is much bigger than Johnson. He’s more in line with an outside corner or even a safety than Johnson. Perhaps the Steelers will actually have Ramsey take snaps at safety with Minkah Fitzpatrick gone. His former teammate, Terron Armstead, thinks that Ramsey could be All-Pro caliber there. That could also be Juan Thornhill’s spot opposite SS DeShon Elliott.
But if the Steelers envision Jalen Ramsey as a corner, you can certainly entertain the prospect that the Steelers will be playing even more nickel than they were last year. Thankfully, Ramsey is a more than willing tackler. Because you know teams like the Baltimore Ravens are going to be running the ball no matter what defensive formation the Steelers are lined up in.
