5 unproven Steelers the team will rely on during 2021 season

James Pierre

Spillane at least saw some considerable action this past season, meaning his transition may not be as tough as some. Compare that to James Pierre, who saw only 3 percent of the defensive snaps on the season and is currently slated to start and suddenly there are even more concerns. Pierre looked good in his limited sample size, holding his own against opposing receivers and being a decent tackler. That said, 2021 is shaping up to be a huge season for him.

With Steven Nelson no longer on the team, the Steelers are down an outside cornerback. With the resigning of Cameron Sutton, the Steelers will likely use him and veteran Joe Haden in base defense as both are the best options. The issue is in subpackage defense, where the Steelers have a slot corner. Sutton works well in the slot, meaning that, as of this writing, Pierre would likely be the next man up at outside corner. This should jump his playing time into the 60-70 percent assuming he starts the entire season.

While some will claim that this is Justin Layne’s spot for the tacking given his draft status, remember that Pierre began seeing defensive snaps over Layne towards the end of the season and the playoffs. Pierre seems to have jumped him on the depth chart. As well, the team will likely draft a corner early, but Pierre will likely still enter camp as the top option unless that rookie is taken in the first. Even then, cornerback usually needs at least half a season to get up to speed. All of this to say, Pierre is in a position to see starting snaps for the Steelers defense in 2021.