Daimion Stafford’s late offseason signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers could turn out to be very valuable for both sides.
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Daimion Stafford is more than just a post-draft signing. Although he came cheap and was available late, he can add value to the roster.
First, he came from the Tennessee Titans where he was their special teams captain. Although he may not be a gunner, he can play the wing on punt coverage. He also is a missing piece to the Steelers secondary.
Stafford may not be a regular starter, but he can play the dime back role as a third safety. The Steelers will have an opening for a third safety on obvious throwing downs. Although he may not be a star safety, he is a serviceable option that will have more coverage ability than any buck linebacker the Steelers would have normally had on the field.
The third safety job was something the Steelers sought after in the draft. If you look at the Steelers pre-draft visitors, it indicates that the Steelers wanted to draft a safety early. Even Raiders second-round pick Obi Melifonwu was a pre-draft visitor for the Steelers.
Despite the Steelers wanting a safety early in the draft, the ended up finding that an outside linebacker and wide receiver were better picks for where they picked in the first two rounds. Kevin Colbert has often said that the Steelers draft players that they want instead of players they need.
In this draft’s case, there was not a safety that fell to the Steelers that they wanted. This may have something to do with the run on safeties in the second-round of the draft.
Stafford may not be as talented an athlete as Obi Melifonwu, but he does have the roster value to play in the dime and be a core special teams player.
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I won’t guarantee that he makes the team, but a good training camp and some plays on special teams in the preseason could make this an excellent value pickup.