The need for speed. Every team wants it. The Pittsburgh Steelers currently lack it at cornerback. Despite building a depth chart specifically to combat the Cincinnati Bengals, the team forgot one thing. The wheels to keep up with those guys.
In some respects, Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay can still play. And have made plays on the ball. It might not feel like it coming off Thursday night’s loss in which both were properly cooked. Ramsey allowed a 136.8 QB rating against, Slay a 118.8. But their shortcomings are with their speed. Neither guy can run like they used to. And that’s an obvious problem.
Of course, Ramsey is still dealing with a hamstring injury. He’s played through it but probably not at 100 percent, especially after a short week and physical game against the Cleveland Browns. But even before the injury, Ramsey’s ability to open it up and run wasn’t really evident. He was at his worst turning and running downfield and matching routes vertical.
Slay’s issues are clear enough. At 34 years old and likely in the final year of his career, his instincts are still there but his legs aren’t. In man coverage on 26-year-old Andrei Iosivas, a track star at high school and Princeton, he was dusted for a 37-yard gain for a key third down conversion Thursday night.
Of the regulars, only Joey Porter Jr. can truly open it up and run. The rest, even Brandin Echols, are at their best defending the short/medium passing game.
It’s one reason why Pittsburgh’s allowed 19 completions of 20-plus yards this season. One of the worst numbers in the league (though that enters Week 7 and could shift after today’s slate of games). That puts the Steelers on pace to allow 53 such completions in 2025, six more than the defense did a year ago. Which wasn’t a banner year for the group.
Speed isn’t just about defending the nine-route, either. It’s about closing on the ball to prevent YAC. Matching the slant route. Flipping your hips to turn and match the route. Bottom of the screen, watch Ramsey as Chase shakes him loose at the top of the route. Maybe the coverage can be cited for that, Ramsey playing inside leverage, but this isn’t what the Steelers were looking for when they put this roster together.
I’m hardly the only one making the point. Other analysts have commented similar. Pittsburgh has speed in the front seven, especially at linebacker. In the secondary, they’re missing it. And that’s one place you can’t afford to be slow.
It doesn’t mean Ramsey was a bad trade. He’s played well and brought value overall. But Pittsburgh may have gone too all-in on age and lack of speed at cornerback, hurting them against teams who open up the vertical passing game the way strong-armed Joe Flacco and the Bengals did. But like the Steelers recent infusion of speed at wide receiver over the past two years, Pittsburgh’s offseason agenda is finding more of that at cornerback.
