Three great Steelers offseason pickups
By Tim Weaver
2. Brandon Boykin
A couple months ago on a Saturday night I came out of an awful Tom Cruise movie and discovered my phone had blown up with texts and emails since I’d shut it down for the movie.
The news was that the Philadelphia Eagles had traded the best nickelback in football to the Steelers for a conditional fifth round draft pick. I could hardly believe it. I may have said something along the lines of “Chip Kelly is out of his mind,” and my opinion hasn’t changed since.
The reason the Eagles supposedly let Brandon Boykin go was that he didn’t fit their ideal model for a cornerback: in other words he was too small to play outside and therefore he was the odd man out.
Boykin may not be Legion-of-Boom sized, but he is one of the best coverage corners out there. In 2014 Pro Football Focus says he gave up zero touchdowns despite being targeted 64 times. His 78.2 QBR against ranked fifth among all nickelbacks.
Last week Steelers fans got to see some of that shutdown prowess in action:
For a fifth rounder?
Chip may be laughed out of the NFL in two years.