The Pittsburgh Steelers have a pair of young starters at the safety position, but a lack of depth behind them. Here is how I have them graded heading into the 2019 season.
The Steelers haven’t been able to boast about their safeties since the days of Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark. Last year, they spend a first round pick on Virginia Tech safety, Terrell Edmunds. Prior to that, Sean Davis was taken in the 2nd round of the 2016 draft.
Though the Steelers have invested high in the position in recent years, how will their safeties fare in 2019? Here is a breakdown of each player and how I have them graded:
Sean Davis
Sean Davis is the only true ‘free safety’ on the Steelers roster. As a former cornerback at Maryland, David possesses the coverage skills desired for the position.
Davis has jumped all around the Steelers secondary in his first three NFL seasons, but made a home at free safety with his best season to date. Still, he has just one interception in his last 17 NFL games (including playoffs), and will need to improve in this department.
Terrell Edmunds
Terrell Edmunds was a draft choice that left fans scratching their heads. While many slotted him somewhere in the late 2nd or 3rd round, Edmunds was taken in the 1st by the Steelers in 2018.
Now entering his second season, Edmunds will have to live up to his billing. He had a slow start to his rookie season, but finished strong down the stretch.
Marcus Allen
Marcus Allen is the player who is most likely to fill in for Morgan Burnett in the dime linebacker role this year. At Penn State, he did his best work in the box. He’s not the smoothest athlete or the best in coverage, but the former 5th round pick will have to prove he is capable early on for the Steelers.
Jordan Dangerfield
Dangerfield is a ‘box only’ safety that does his work near the line of scrimmage. Though he is currently slated as the primary backup to Terrell Edmunds, he doesn’t offer any position flexibility and is closer to a linebacker than a free safety. He will attempt to make the roster in his 3rd straight season for Pittsburgh.
Brian Allen
Brian Allen is a former 5th round pick that has dressed for 16 games in his first two seasons, but has yet to find the field on defense. He has just one tackle to his name, and the Steelers are still trying to find his best fit. It’s possible that he makes his permanent home at safety with a lack of depth at the position.
Overall safety grade: D
The Steelers have some unproven (albeit physically talented) safeties starting on their roster in Edmunds and Davis. They will each need to take a step forward this season if they want to prove they could be more than stop-gap players.
Pittsburgh has very poor overall depth behind them with just a handful of game experience between the rest of the position. Marcus Allen will likely be asked to play a sizable role, but is unclear how he will perform.
The Steelers have a pair of undrafted rookies in Dravon Askew-Henry and P.J. Locke – one of which may have an outside chance of making the roster. However, they will need to have remarkable performances in preseason. Overall, the Steelers have a severe lack of experience and depth at the safety position to make them even an average group in the NFL in 2019.