Steelers 2021 rookie stock report heading into Week 2

Steelers Tre Norwood

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A player I personally didn’t imagine would be playing so early, Tre Norwood actually got credited with a defensive start due to him being in the slot on the first drive for the Bills. Even though he wasn’t the sole slot cornerback for the team, he still saw a monumental number of snaps for a seventh-round defender. He played 80 percent of the defensive snaps to go along with 34 percent of the special teams’ ones, leading him to be one of the most heavily played rookies for the Steelers in Week 1.

While his snap share was impressive, his play left a little to be desired. While he held his own and recorded six total tackles, he had some issues in coverage. He only allowed a quarterback rating of 83.3 when being targeted. That said, he got burned on deep passes a few times but was bailed out by Bills quarterback Josh Allen overthrowing his receiver.

Norwood certainly has some work to do in that department going forward.

Even with his play just being average, though, he sees his stock shoot up. The fact the Steelers were pushing for him to be on the field as often as he was is telling of how they view him. Clearly, the Steelers think they have something in Norwood, and he should continue to have a role on this defense going forward.

While he likely won’t play 80 percent of the defensive snaps each week, expect Norwood to continue seeing snaps in the slot as the season goes forward.