3 positions Steelers must beef up before training camp

Cornerback

The Steelers lost two quality cornerbacks this offseason in Steven Nelson and Mike Hilton and didn’t do anything to replace them in free agency. Surprisingly, they still waited until the 7th round to address the cornerback position, and there are talks that Oklahoma’s Tre Norwood could be moving to safety.

While Joe Haden and Cameron Sutton are both quality football players, the depth behind these two is razor-thin. James Pierre might have passed Justin Layne on the depth chart last season, but it’s hard to count on an unathletic undrafted free agent with just 27 career defensive snaps to step into a sizable role in his second season. We could find that he’s not the player Pittsburgh was hoping he was.

Likewise, Layne was arrested this offseason, and he already appeared to be in the doghouse late in the season. Despite his freakish length and tools, he hasn’t given us any reason to believe that he could be the answer the Steelers are looking for in 2021. With some quality veterans with lots of starting experience still sitting in free agency, Pittsburgh would be wise to bring in some added help that can get acclimated to the team before training camp. Otherwise, this secondary could see its fair share of struggles in 2021.