How does Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds fit in this star-studded defense?
A sophomore year with mixed results
After a harsh start to the 2019 season, the Steelers added Minkah Fitzpatrick via trade. It freed up Edmunds to do something no safety for the Steelers has done since Ryan Clark in 2013 – he registered over 100 tackles on the season and per CBS he would be ranked at 35 in the league among all positions in tackles.
That was good enough to be 7th among all safeties in tackles. He failed to generate any takeovers himself in 2019 and registered only two tackles for a loss. However, he managed to be part of the first pair of tacklers the Steelers had with over 100 tackles in the same season since 2013. He may not have been a human highlight reel in 2019, but he was exactly what the Steelers drafted him to be. That was a very sure tackler in the secondary and that is something they have not had since Ryan Clark departed.
Where does that leave him in 2020?
At 23 years old entering his third season in the NFL, Edmunds may not be a ball-hawk, and he hasn’t shown the ability to lock-down elite tight ends in the NFL yet. But with more time to develop a chemistry with Minkah Fitzpatrick things almost surely will go up from here.
This young safety was a security blanket for the other defensive backs when it came to taking risks and generating splash in 2019. We can expect him to only become more involved this year with an improving run defense and to take some risks himself in the passing game.
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With the star-studded cast around him, Terrell Edmunds will be tested a lot in pass coverage this season and after seeing what he has done to help turn around the biggest problem with that defense only thee years ago now, I have no doubts he will live up to it.