Last year, part of the reason for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ collapse came from issues in the secondary. There were too many miscommunications and moments with players simply looking lost. The Steelers tried to remedy that this offseason, adding Jalen Ramsey and losing Minkah Fitzpatrick in the process. According to Steelers insider Mark Kaboly, the addition of Ramsey alone could make them a better team.
“Jalen Ramsey is a very, very, very good ball player,” Kaboly said on 93.7 The Fan on Sunday. “And he is going to be a difference maker. I mean, he’s smooth, fast, knows where to go, makes interceptions. He is definitely going to be just a fun tool to play with. A fun guy to watch where they set him up. Him alone should make them a better team.”
All NFL teams strive to be better than the year before during every offseason. That said, the Steelers’ moves this offseason show a level of desperation that we haven’t quite seen from them before. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing, and honestly if there was any offseason to have a drastic change, it should be this one. Pittsburgh has gone 10-7 back to back years and lost handily on the road in the playoffs each time. This would not have been the offseason to penny pinch and refrain from any drastic moves.
Of all their decisions this offseason, acquiring Jalen Ramsey may have been the most shocking. Especially trading Fitzpatrick for him.
On paper, the decision does make some sense. The Steelers want to play a lot of man-coverage, it’s what their roster may do best. With Ramsey, Darius Slay and Joey Porter Jr. all on the field, they’ve got three cornerbacks who can do it. Man-to-man also gives Ramsey some situations where he can blitz, an area in which he’s one of the better players in the league. Additionally, it could allow DeShon Elliott to play closer to the line of scrimmage as well, where he works best as a run-stopping safety.
We know Ramsey can still play at a high level. But the way the safety position works out may be most important of all. Alongside Elliott, Juan Thonrhill projects as the other starting safety. However, the Steelers did bring in some more help in Chuck Clark on Friday. Ramsey could potentially move to safety as well, but with Clark now in the mix, that feels a lot less likely.
At the end of the day, Kaboly is more likely to be right than wrong here. Adding Jalen Ramsey is a massive plus, given his talent. However, he helps the defense as they transition into something of a new identity overall. With him on the roster, the Steelers can feel much more confident in man coverage, which allows them to be more aggressive in almost every other aspect.
