The Pittsburgh Steelers have a dilemma on their hands after the 2020 season.
The Steelers managed to piece together a very talented secondary in as little as 4 years. They went from starting the likes of William Gay, Ross Cockrell, Sean Davis, and Mike Mitchell to fielding a secondary in 2020 that features Minkah Fitzpatrick, Joe Haden, Steven Nelson, and Terrell Edmunds. It is incredibly clear that every guy in 2020 is a massive improvement over their 2016 counterpart. Yet the biggest upgrade for the Steelers may very well be the difference between Cortez Allen in 2016 and both Mike Hilton and Cameron Sutton.
The Steelers went from barely surviving in nickel sets in 2016, to it very nearly being their primary defense. They have done so much to get one of their ultra-talented nickel corners on the field on nearly every down. Both players generate big plays on the defense regularly, to the point where it doesn’t matter which guy is starting. There is going to be a huge play from that 3rd cornerback nearly every week.
However, there is a huge dilemma for the Steelers after 2020 as both of these star nickel corners are currently in the final years of their contract. There is a possible chance that teams that could use defensive back help, which is pretty much every team in the league, could outbid the Steelers for both of these players. I expect Pittsburgh to use whatever they can to keep at least one of them and I firmly believe that Pittsburgh should sign Cameron Sutton over Mike Hilton.
Both Steelers Cornerbacks generate splash plays, but Sutton fills in a more important need.
This is not to say that Joe Haden is no longer a viable cornerback in the NFL. However, he is aging and when he starts to decline, the Steelers will be left without someone who has the lockdown cover skills at as consistent of a basis as Haden has given them. Sutton is significantly superior to Hilton on a one on one coverage basis. A big part of that has to do with the size difference between the two. Teams like the Eagles have figured out that using a larger receiver and forcing the Steelers to cover him with Mike Hilton tends to garner a lot of production.
The statistics are significantly in the favor of Sutton. He allows a completion rate of 62.5% and a QB rating of 80.5 when it is thrown in his direction. Mike Hilton allows a completion rate of 71.4% and a QB rating of 90.8 when it is thrown in his direction. It may not seem like a huge difference right away. Yet, we have to consider the fact that up until Mike Hilton’s injury, Cam Sutton rarely saw the field. He played less than 40% of the snaps every game until Hilton’s injury. His first game over 40% of the snaps was the game that Hilton missed the whole second half with a shoulder injury.
It is a valid point considering that the cornerback position isn’t just one that relies on preparation before the game. It is the most reactive position in football. Great corners anticipate, but every corner needs to be able to react. Without as much time in these games to get a feel for their matchups and tendencies, it becomes a lot harder for these players to be able to react. Hilton is invaluable in the box, especially against the run, but the number one responsibility of a cornerback is to be able to cover other players. Sutton clearly has the edge on that one.
Cameron Sutton is improving in what was his weaker areas, while Mike Hilton’s strong spot is worsening
Both players are have done very well in 2020, but at the rate that Sutton is improving, he is more than likely going to have a higher ceiling. It is not to say that Hilton hasn’t been incredible this year. Yet, Sutton is showing that for future investment, such as a high paying long term deal, he should end up at a higher peak.
He is a coverage specialist, which we have already seen how much better in coverage he is than Hilton. He has improved his tackling tremendously since 2019. We have to remember that Sutton and Hilton were splitting time in 2019 depending on whether they were in passing situations and rushing situations. Now, Sutton has shown a fantastic improvement to the point where I would trust him on the field in any situation the Nickel formation is being used. His missed tackle percentage, when he was primarily playing in passing situations, was 11% which is not very good. Now in 2020, when the majority of his snaps have been played due to Hilton’s injury, and he has to be on the field in both passing and rushing situations, his missed tackle percentage has dropped to 5%. Hilton’s missed tackle percentage went from 5.8% in 2019, up to 12.1% in 2020.
For Hilton’s specialty to be tackling and playing near the line of scrimmage, it is very disconcerting to see what was once his greatest strength to be getting worse at just 26 years old. With Hilton’s size and coverage skills, he can’t become a less stable tackler and he has in 2020. Hilton has generated more splash in 2020 than he did in 2019. Even so, Sutton has improved that aspect of his game as much as anyone this year.
In all of 2019, Sutton only generated one turnover, but in 2020 he has generated 4. Hilton generated 3 turnovers in 2019, and in 2020 he has generated 2. He has missed significant time with injury in 2020, but he is getting turnovers at a faster rate. Hilton has also already doubled his sack total from 2019 as well. They have both improved in the turnover department. Yet, Sutton improved his strengths and weaknesses in 2020. Hilton improved his weaknesses, but at the cost of weakening his strengths.
The Steelers can win now, but Sutton sets them up better in the future
Sutton will probably be cheaper than Hilton in the offseason. Mike Hilton is garnering a lot more attention league-wide with playing almost like a fast linebacker in the nickel position. Part of the reason they were so stout at defending the run, even in the Nickel formation, was that Hilton’s incomparable ability to find the right gaps and angles as a cornerback. Even if Hilton misses the tackle, he still slows down whatever runner he is pursuing enough for the rest of the defense to finish the job.
With that being said, there will be quite a few teams that are willing to pay highly for such a unique talent. However, the Steelers should look forward to developing Sutton even more. He has the kind of potential in coverage, by refining his technique to become what Joe Haden is right now. That is a very smart, and savvy player that uses his incredible technique to make up for his lack of speed. Sutton is already pretty sound technically, yet he has room to improve that area, and he has shown the kind of ball skills to be able to do something with passes as he is finding more ways to stay with his man.
As I previously stated, this isn’t a super young group of cornerbacks, and the best coverage corner right now is 31 years old. Steven Nelson has been holding steady with some moments both good and bad in 2020. However, Sutton has the coverage skills to take over on the outside if something were to happen with either of the outside cornerbacks injury-wise. Hilton just doesn’t have the size or skills in coverage to hold up on the outside against slightly better-than-average receivers. Not only injury-wise but if Haden starts trending down quickly in the next season or two, it may be worth switching to Sutton. However, if Justin Layne continues to excite coaches as he has been, the Steelers could keep Sutton at his best position on the inside, and have what will be one of the best nickel corners in the league in terms of coverage.
Mike Hilton has already established himself as one of the best nickel corners in the league, yet Sutton has shown a ton of improvement and potential. More importantly, Sutton fits what the Steelers are going to need more of in the future. That is huge when talking about a team that has to pick and choose what players have to be re-signed to remain competitive.