Pittsburgh Steelers: Senquez Golson’s stock has fallen

The once high hopes for cornerback Senquez Golson seem to be deteriorating quickly within the Pittsburgh Steelers’ organization.

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It was only a couple years ago that the Steelers took Senquez Golson in the second-round of the 2015 NFL draft. He was considered a high-upside pick who could play in the slot for the Steelers.

It was possible that as a rookie that he could win the starting slot corner role. He led the SEC in interceptions in his last year at Ole Miss.

The downside to drafting Senquez Golson was his size. Although he has an impressive high jump, he stands in at only 5’9.” The knock on him was that his size could make him an injury risk.

The first let down was that he had a shoulder injury in OTAs. We are still not clear whether this happened as Ole Miss and Senquez Golson hid it from the Steelers, but it sidelined him for his rookie year. He did not even make it to training camp. In his second year, he had a Lisfranc injury that occurred before the Steelers first preseason game. So in two years, he has not even played in a preseason game.

Now, we sit here today, and there is some optimism from the fanbase that Golson can live up to his draft status. He is currently running second-team slot receiver. However, the words Carnell Lake used indicate the Steelers see Golson as more of a potential reserve corner and gunner on special teams.

It sounded from Lake’s description that this is the way the Steelers see Golson. This means that the Steelers are questioning whether he is able to even be a backup on the team’s roster. There is also some concern that his speed has diminished and that could hurt his ability to be a head hunter on special teams. His size and tackling were already concerns.

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Overall, I think Golson is on the bubble just to make the 53-man roster, and his ability to impress Danny Smith and add depth in the slot will determine whether he could be even on the team going forward.