As CB Mike Hilton departs to the Cincinnati Bengals, the role of Cameron Sutton increases & the Pittsburgh Steelers must look to the draft to find a replacement.
Everyone remembers NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal at the free-throw line, right? Motionless in his wrist, a shot timer reminiscent of how physically fast he was on the court post-2004, and an intense focus of the rim to only shoot a career free throw percentage of 52.7, it became a running joke in his career. As much as fans hoped for both to go through the net, expectancy never failed, and sadly the Pittsburgh Steelers had to become Shaq at the free-throw line.
After securing CB Cameron Sutton to a two-year, $9 million contract with $3.5 guaranteed, all eyes immediately shifted towards CB Mike Hilton. Anxious for his return, his daily countdown on Twitter made it all worse for Steelers when news broke that he will be signing a four-year deal with their division rival, Cincinnati Bengals.
A departure that this defense will significantly miss, Hilton was the swiss army knife in how he could disrupt offenses at the line of scrimmage or in the backfield.
Mike Hilton has been sent on more slot blitzes (148) than any other DB since entering the NFL in 2017, generating 16 pressures (10.8% rate) and 3.5 sacks.
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) March 16, 2021
Over the same time frame, the Bengals have only sent 37 slot blitzes. https://t.co/P3dZ5LKtn4 pic.twitter.com/HBNC2SDXc8
One of the league’s better slot corner in terms of pure impact, Sutton now steps in to fill in his shoes, and although he may not live up to efficiency Hilton has when sent on a blitz, his cover skills will more than hold up.
The Steelers bring back Cameron Sutton, 1 of 5 DBs to align on at least 10% of snaps at slot corner, outside corner, deep safety & box safety.
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) March 15, 2021
Sutton was successful in coverage no matter the alignment, allowing -12.3 EPA on targets as nearest defender (12th-lowest among DB). https://t.co/kknHnefeCA pic.twitter.com/zeZjdtnZiq
And as shown in the graphic, Sutton has versatility. Yes, the sample size is small if he can consistently perform well as an outside-CB, but it’s something to consider going into the draft. With a lack of depth, and questions surrounding what the Steelers will & should do with CBs Joe Haden & Steven Nelson, it’s essentially incompetence if Pittsburgh’s front office chooses not to draft from this loaded upcoming class.