One of the best parts of training camp is the spirit of competition as 90 players compete for 53 roster spots, 22 starting jobs, and 16 spaces on the practice squad. For the first time in a while, they entered camp with no obvious competitions for a starting job. But the addition of S Chuck Clark after camp was underway made for one important battle to watch with S Juan Thornhill.
“I think it’s a legit battle,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo said via 93.7 The Fan’s Pomp and Joe Show. “Both those guys have been making plays. I mean Thornhill was always around the action, been at the right place at the right time for some picks, especially in the two-minute drill here the last week or so. And Chuck Clark is always around the ball too. You see him out there breaking up a lot of passes. So I think Thornhill probably has a little bit of an edge right now. Clark came in a little bit late, but Clark has played well. So I think he’s gonna push him till the end of the preseason.”
When the Steelers are in base defense with four defensive backs on the field, they will try to keep their top three corners on the field with DeShon Elliott the lone safety.
Jalen Ramsey can serve as a safety in those situations to make sure their best talent is on the field and moving around as much as possible. But the Steelers are going to need Thornhill or Clark in their sub-packages to interchange with Ramsey in either the slot or at post safety.
Thornhill told reporters that he was signed to take away the deep ball. He is better in that role than Clark, but the latter is more versatile with almost 2,000 career snaps each at free safety and box safety and almost 700 in the slot. How the Steelers rotate Ramsey through the formation may dictate which safety is on the field.
Going off splash plays alone, Thornhill has stood out the more between the two. He had a pair of picks this week in the two-minute drill.
Thornhill may have a slight edge after the first round at camp, but the three preseason games will tell the rest of the story. Both should get plenty of playing time to state their case. Regardless, the Steelers have much better safety depth than they did when they first reported to camp.
