Why Steelers man-to-man coverage will improve in 2019

The Pittsburgh Steelers have struggled in man-to-man coverage in recent years. Here’s why that could be about to change in 2019.

Throughout the past couple of seasons, one of the biggest challenges the Pittsburgh Steelers have faced has been the inability to play man-to-man coverage. This challenge has been one area why the Steelers seem to perform under expectations as of these past couple years.

Multiple setbacks have been the cause. The loss of Ryan Shazier, one of the best coverage linebackers in the league before going down with an injury, opened up passing lanes all over the middle of the field for opposing teams. The poor development of former first-round selection Artie Burns put the secondary in a tough spot.

The Steelers have made strides in the right direction when it comes to acquiring the right personnel each season to have the possibility to use man-to-man more often though.

Steelers shut-down corner:

The acquisition of Joe Haden was a phenomenal pickup when the Cleveland Browns released the Pro Bowl corner just a few years ago. Having a lock-down cornerback in the league who can shadow top tier wide receivers makes man-to-man defense a whole lot more effective.

This is why the Steelers signed the veteran corner to a two year, $22 million deal which included a $16.8 million signing bonus reported by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. The next step is surrounding Haden with peers who can also get the job done through pass coverage as well.

The team has already done so with having adaptable players in the secondary such as Terrell Edmunds, Mike Hilton, Cameron Sutton, and Sean Davis. The Steelers made sure to add to this group this offseason with several key additions to the team.

Most prevalent 2019 offseason addition:

The most important addition the Pittsburgh Steelers made this offseason was finding Ryan Shazier’s replacement at inside linebacker. With the 10th overall pick in the 2019 draft, the Steelers drafted Devin Bush out of the University of Michigan.

Pittsburgh made a deal with Denver, in which the team gave up the 20th pick in 2019, 52nd pick in 2019, and a 2020 third-round pick to trade up for Bush. Here’s an in-depth look why Devin Bush was the right move by the Steelers.

Bush should look to contribute right away for the historic Steelers franchise – helping fill the void in the middle of the field. Coming out of Michigan, Bush was maybe the most versatile player out of the whole 2019 NFL class.

Throughout training camp, and the preseason he has shown the sky is the limit for his potential. One of the brightest areas of Bush’s game is his ability to cover running backs out of the backfield, and also his coverage when lined up on tight ends.

He undoubtingly has the speed to keep up with most players, and the ball skills to succeed in man coverage. The only cause for concern would be Bush’s inability to cover some of those bigger tight ends due to being undersized.

Building depth at inside linebacker:

The Steelers also brought in another versatile linebacker via free agency in Mark Barron. The former Los Angeles Ram was originally a safety in the league before converting to the inside linebacker position.

His experience at various positions is likely the main reason Pittsburgh brought him in. He should look to specialize on obvious passing downs with Devin Bush since one of Vince Williams’ few weaknesses is his game comes in pass coverage.

Cornerback two expectations:

The hope is Pittsburgh Steelers free-agent signee, Steven Nelson. The former Kansas City Chief was brought in on a three year, $25.5 million deal with Pittsburgh. Nelson has shown that he should be the one getting the opportunity due to his performances so far with the Steelers.

If Nelson does struggle at times, which I do not think he will, the Steelers have the depth necessary to fill the void still. With young players such as Justin Layne, Cameron Sutton, and Artie Burns. All three have plenty of room to grow before leaping Steven Nelson on the depth chart.

How important is man-to-man defense in the 2019 NFL season?

I expect the Pittsburgh Steelers ability to play solid man to man defense will play a pivotal part in the team returning to the playoffs in the 2019 NFL season. The off-season moves by general manager Kevin Colbert have really set the team up for success on defense.

The Steelers play the New England Patriots on September 8, at 8:30 on NBC. Steelers Nation will get a new look at this new units man to man coverage ability soon enough.