Ranking the Steelers 6 best solutions at slot cornerback

The Steelers allow Brown to man the slot

Easily the Steelers’ most exciting undrafted free agent, Shakur Brown has been making some noise early and often so far in his career. He has been one of the earlier risers during OTA’s, and he figures to be the safest roster lockout of the undrafted rookie pool. Just making the roster doesn’t guarantee a starting spot, but if he continues to flash the team may just roll with Brown as their top slot cornerback.

Brown was solid as a junior last season at Michigan St., as he recorded five interceptions and looked good in coverage. The issue was the lack of overall tape with him being an underclassman and his horrible testing times. That said, his athleticism can be better hidden in the slot, as instincts and physicality can make up some lacking athleticism.

While going from undrafted to starting in your rookie year is a stretch, a similar story happened before Brown was on the roster. While Hilton wasn’t a rookie the year he started, he was a reserve/futures deal player that was truly a camp shocker. He played so well in the preseason that the team started him in the slot and the rest was history. Could a similar story happen with Brown? The early indications are that it could, but Brown still has a lot to prove before the team would likely be comfortable with starting him.