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Should the Steelers move on from Terrell Edmunds in 2020?

By Brandon Kring

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 08: Safety Terrell Edmunds #34 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second half of the NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on December 08, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. The Steelers defeated the Cardinals 23-17. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 08: Safety Terrell Edmunds #34 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second half of the NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on December 08, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. The Steelers defeated the Cardinals 23-17. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – DECEMBER 29: Running back Gus Edwards #35 of the Baltimore Ravens rushes past strong safety Terrell Edmunds #34 of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first quarter at M&T Bank Stadium on December 29, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – DECEMBER 29: Running back Gus Edwards #35 of the Baltimore Ravens rushes past strong safety Terrell Edmunds #34 of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first quarter at M&T Bank Stadium on December 29, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

Why the Steelers should move on from Terrell Edmunds

The Steelers secondary was very good from the moment Minkah Fitzpatrick stepped foot in Pittsburgh. He seemed to be the missing piece that got the unit where many fans have longed for them to be.

The duo of Joe Haden and Steven Nelson brought much-needed stability to the Steelers defensive backfield to begin the season but the safety spot was still lacking with Edmunds and Sean Davis early on.

The Steelers saw the opportunity to get a budding star safety and took the shot. They acquired Fitzpatrick for a first-round pick (now 18th overall) and various other pick swaps.

Fitzpatrick stepped in and immediately brought splash plays and a frightening presence over the top that Pittsburgh hasn’t had since some guy named Troy with long black hair. It helped solidify the secondary into one of the better units in the league as they finished ranked third in pass defense and second in interceptions.

Most units always have a weak link and Edmunds, the former first-rounder, was it for Pittsburgh in 2019. He was the only starting member of the secondary to fail to record at least one interception on the year.

Edmunds was a shocking pick based on projections as some felt they could have taken him in the second or third round. He is a very raw athlete which is the type the Steelers seem to love.

The problem with that it the raw athleticism has yet to translate to big plays from him at the safety position. Below is a tweet from our own site expert Tommy Jaggi (give him a follow here):

As you can see in the tweet, Edmunds was the clear-cut weak link in the secondary this season. The disparity from his running-mate at safety (Fitzpatrick) is over triple the rating allowed.

Some of this is due to him being targeted so much due to other teams noticing he is the weakest spot of the defense. This could go a long way in deciding whether they need to address his spot as starter in 2020.

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