5 most impressive players at conclusion of Steelers training camp in 2021
By Tommy Jaggi
2. CB James Pierre
The final two spots in this list were really easy to decide, as I thought they drastically outperformed expectations. While many already thought that James Pierre was ahead of Justin Layne on Pittsburgh’s depth chart late in the 2020 season, that completion was reset this summer. Though Layne made a few nice plays on the ball over the past several weeks, Pierre was easily more consistent and better overall.
Though he’s not an elite athlete, Pierre has pretty good size for an outside cornerback and an excellent feel for the game. He had a number of impressive pass breakups and interceptions at Steelers training camp and made things challenging for quarterbacks throwing his direction.
What’s most impressive is that Pierre did much of his best work performing against Pittsburgh’s first-team offense. Pierre won his fair share of reps despite difficult matchups against players like Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool.
It’s hard to say how big of a role Pierre will have with the Steelers in 2021, but he’s defiantly done enough to carve out some work in defensive sub-packages and he seems to have earned the trust of Keith Butler and the coaching staff.