Throughout his career, Jalen Ramsey has been a cornerback, and a great one at that. The Pittsburgh Steelers are asking him to do a little more. That’s a task Ramsey embraces, but it also comes with some challenges, as he described after Tuesday’s practice via Steelers.com.
“When you go from different positions, you have to know different roles, honestly,” Ramsey said. “Know different alignments, assignments, and different techniques. In a couple of those roles, I have to communicate frequently. Whereas, you know, playing outside, I don’t have to communicate as much; I can just lock in on one specific thing. So I guess that’s what makes it challenging. But it’s fun, though. It’s cool.”
Communication is a word that was drilled into the heads of Steelers fans late last season. Players were frustrated by the lack of it, which allowed opposing offenses to pick holes in the secondary with ease. The Steelers are stressing that this year. However, it’s of heightened importance with so many new faces on the unit. Aside from Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay, Juan Thornhill, Chuck Clark, and Brandin Echols are all notable new additions to that group.
Getting all of them on the same page isn’t easy, but the starting defense has looked solid. Although there were some reported hiccups in the joint practice with Tampa Bay last week, the starters routinely shut down the Steelers’ offense during training camp.
The heart of those efforts lies with Ramsey, who will play all over the place in 2025. Mike Tomlin unsurprisingly wants him guarding opponents’ top receivers, which means he’ll spend a lot of time on the perimeter. However, Tomlin also wants all three of Ramsey, Slay and Joey Porter Jr. on the field simultaneously. For that to happen, Ramsey would have to be the nickel, something neither Slay nor Porter can do.
That said, the Steelers lost a lot of safety talent when they traded Minkah Fitzpatrick for Ramsey. DeShon Elliott had a great year, but there’s much less assurance in his dance partner back there, which will be either Thornhill or Clark. Thus, Ramsey will see time at safety. This could particularly happen in two-receiver sets, allowing Slay and Porter to play on the outside with no slot receiver.
The Steelers are certainly asking a lot of Jalen Ramsey. But if any defender on this roster can stand up to the task, it’s him. That’s a challenge he seems to be embracing so far.
