The Steelers free safety Mike Mitchell is awful.
Not many would argue with me except for maybe Mike Mitchell himself – in which case he might tell me to go kill myself and then say it was a groin injury suffered mid-season that caused him to be out of position time and time again practically all season long.
The Steelers need a ton of help in their secondary – a lockdown #1 corner to replace the aged Ike Taylor, a more consistent #2 corner than William Gay and not as terrible as Cortez Allen, and a safety that can actually give his corners help over the top.
That all can’t happen in the draft alone because they also need to find help at the tackle position, running back, and a special teams return man (anyone else sick of seeing our #1 in the NFL wide receiver continually receive punts). Wheaton’s not really the best at returning kicks either, and we need someone to help smooth over the Dri “The Toy” Archer debacle.
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Free agency will be key this offseason. This time, Steelers GM Kevin Colbert will need to “get it right” rather than fall flat by picking a one season wonder like Mike Mitchell. That can start by actually choosing a good safety early rather than wait until everyone else has had a shot at signing the better players.
There are plenty of safeties available in free agency, but the Steelers should focus on sticking with youth rather than an older safety who might be on his way out of the league. Mike Mitchell was young at 27, but just doesn’t have the stuff and mental fortitude to do well.
The guy I’m keeping a close eye on during the free agency period is Buffalo Bills safety Da’Norris Searcy. Searcy will be an unrestricted free agent and looking to get a decent pay day before he begins his fifth season in the league.
Searcy is young (26), quick, and has good instincts to the ball that just keep getting better. In 2014 Searcy nabbed three interceptions, defended five passes, 44 solo tackles, and combined on a single sack in just 666 defensive snaps taken (try not to read too much into that number my religious zealots).
He has huge upswing in comparison to Mitchell, and is quite frankly a solid defensive player. He’s a hard worker and is disciplined on the field as he went for zero penalties on the season while being part of numerous passing plays. He also knows a thing or two about tackling well.
He was part of a Bills defense that ranked third in defending the pass and gave up the least amount of TD’s through the air (16) compared to the Steelers who ranked 29th giving up 30 touchdown passes.
Searcy’s two of four solid seasons will come at a decent price tag, but probably just slightly more than the ludicrous amount the Steelers paid for a five year deal with Mitchell.
If the Steelers decide to dump Mitchell, and most feel they should, Searcy would be a great upgrade for only a bit more than Mitchell’s going rate. Keep an eye on Searcy’s free agency when the gates open on March 10th.