The Steelers made good on acquiring DB Jalen Ramsey, but now they have to figure out how to use him. Primarily an outside cornerback, he also has experience in the slot, yet he started out at safety. When he declared for the draft, many viewed him as the top safety prospect, but he wanted to play outside.
Now 30 years old, he is no longer in his athletic prime, so how does that change the equation? Former Pro Football Focus analyst Steve Palazzolo weighed in on 93.7 The Fan on how the Steelers should deploy Jalen Ramsey.
“I would still try to keep him at outside corner”, he said. “I just don’t know how you work that out with [Darius] Slay and [Joey] Porter [Jr.]. If he played inside at nickel, that would be fine. You’ve got Beanie Bishop [Jr.] there, but I think he could do it all. He gives you versatility”.
Of the Steelers’ top three cornerbacks, Jalen Ramsey is by far the most comfortable playing elsewhere. Joey Porter is pretty much strictly a boundary player, and more or less the same is true of Darius Slay. At least for Ramsey, he played in the slot in college and has logged over NFL 1,000 snaps there.
But they are also paying him a bunch of money—like a true lockdown outside cornerback. And what if Ramsey fits best there, in terms of his skill set in 2025? Do you feel an obligation to play Porter and Slay, kicking your biggest name inside? One hopes, though can’t be certain, that the Steelers considered these things in advance.
“The Steelers haven’t really done this a ton in the past where they play matchup basketball, where they’re playing man coverage across the board. But you could do that”, Palazzolo suggested. “And then if Ramsey played in that late-career Charles Woodson-type of role, Jalen Ramsey’s outstanding at that”.
The Steelers have shown some indication of a desire to lean on more man coverage, for which Ramsey could be a sign. Many talked about man coverage after they signed Darius Slay, even though he is even older than Ramsey.
So what are they to do? Perhaps it makes the most sense for the Steelers to wait until they have Jalen Ramsey on the field. They need to see for themselves where the strengths of his game lie when running their scheme. If he excels best outside in man coverage, they’ll find ways to make use of him there. If that means making Porter or Slay the nickel defender, so be it.
