One area to improve for each member of Steelers 2021 draft class

Steelers Norwood

Issue: Run Support

Tre Norwood, along with another day three counterpart, quickly became two relative surprises for the Steelers draft class. Norwood was seen as a limited safety with a lot of questions across the board. The team quickly slotted him into the slot position, and he thrived there. The early returns weren’t great, as he struggled when tasked with a variety of roles, but he eventually thrived when allowed to focus just on the slot.

The one main area that Norwood was lacking by the end of his rookie season was his run defense. While he wasn’t horrible there, he didn’t defend the run like the team had been used to in the slot. Sure, we were spoiled with Mike Hilton there, but even Arthur Maulet provided better run support for this team.

If Norwood can get a bit more physical and instinctive there, the Steelers could have a quality slot defensive back on their hands. Norwood certainly has the size to do well, as he is bigger than Hilton was. He needs to be more instinctive as a player and more aggressive at the line of scrimmage. If he can take that step though, the second-year veteran could be in for a huge second season.