3 positions on the Pittsburgh Steelers that are severely lacking quality depth
By Tommy Jaggi
Steelers lost two quality cornerback, replaced neither of them
I totally understand the “next man up” mentality. At some point, you need to trust the young guys on the roster and give them the opportunity to prove themselves. However, I don’t think this is the year to abide by that philosophy when this is the final season of a rapidly closing Super Bowl window.
After what we have seen so far, how much confidence could we possibly have in a player like James Pierre or Justin Layne? Both cornerbacks are young players who can play on the outside, but they have such a small sample of play in the NFL that we don’t know what we will be getting. Everyone is quick to assume that Pierre will be the answer for the Steelers in 2021, but he has just 35 total defensive snaps in the NFL between both the regular season and the playoffs, according to Pro Football Reference.
After the team lost both Steven Nelson and Mike Hilton this offseason, it was a very interesting decision to wait until the 7th round of the 2021 NFL Draft to address the cornerback position, and Tre Norwood certainly isn’t going to be the answer this year. In fact, the do-it-all Oklahoma defensive back is actually listed as a safety on the Steelers official website.
I know the Steelers don’t have a lot of money to work with, but there are still some quality cornerback options in free agency. The success of their defense may depend on whether or not their cornerbacks can cover this year. Teams essentially have three starters at the position in today’s game, and that third guy for the Steelers is a major question mark.