Are Steelers fans irrationally high on CB James Pierre?

James Pierre is a player the Pittsburgh Steelers could be counting on in 2021, but are fans irrationally high on the unproven cornerback?

Cornerback James Pierre played very sparingly for the Steelers in 2020. The former Florida Atlantic product has entered the league as an undrafted free agent last season and immediately found a home within Pittsburgh. By the end of the season, it had appeared that Pierre surpassed former third-round pick, Justin Layne, on the depth chart.

But are fans irrationally high on the completely unproven cornerback?

In response to why the Steelers elected to wait so long in the NFL Draft to address the cornerback position, I can’t tell you how many fans have said that Pittsburgh already has the answer in James Pierre. I would love nothing more for this to be the case. However, I have to err on the side of caution here and advise you not to be too quick to make an assessment one way or another on Pierre.

Though he dressed for all 16 games with the Steelers in 2020, Pierre played just 27 defensive snaps during the regular season, according to Pro Football Reference. In the playoff game against the Cleveland Browns, he pitched in 8 more. This means that many fans are making a rash decision about a cornerback who has a combined 35 defensive snaps under his belt. This is hardly fair to Pierre.

James Pierre may not be the answer many Steelers fans think he is

Just because Pierre is unproven doesn’t mean that he can’t develop into a very good football player. Unfortunately, the odds are stacked against him. Not only will Pierre be trying to make a name for himself as a former undrafted free agent, but he will attempt to do so as a below-average athlete.

At the 2020 NFL Combine, James Pierre ran a dismal 4.59 40-yard dash. If you look at all of the cornerbacks in the NFL, you’d be hard-pressed to find more than a handful of quality corners who roughly have 4.6 speed. While top-end speed doesn’t matter for every position, this is one trait that you don’t want to be lacking as a cornerback.

In addition, Pierre’s vertically jump of 33.5” ranks in just the 18th percentile among NFL cornerbacks, and his 3-cone drill ranks in the 30th percentile, according to Mockdraftable.com. To put it simply, Pierre tested as a very subpar athlete, and that could potentially limit his ceiling in the NFL.

While Justin Layne may have been on thin ice after some poor performances late in the 2020 season, I don’t think we should automatically assume that James Pierre will beat him out this year. I agree that in a very limited sample, Pierre looked better, but it’s so hard to assess him from that. What we do know is that Layne was a high draft investment with terrific length and athletic traits. Pittsburgh may be willing to give him more opportunities to prove himself in 2021.

Even if Pierre does win the role as the team’s third cornerback, he has to prove that he can handle such a steep responsibility. With Steven Nelson and Mike Hilton both gone, Pierre could, more or less, win by default. However, that doesn’t necessarily make him the answer the Steelers need in the secondary.

I’m not low on James Pierre by any means, but dubbing him as the next Mike Hilton-level free agent find is unwise at this point. Obviously, I hope he becomes a great player for the Steelers, but we may need to temper expectations for the time being. Let’s at least see what he brings in training camp and preseason this year first.