The Steelers ended their Wednesday practice with the customary two-minute drill, and suddenly it was deja vu for Aaron Rodgers. For the second day in a row, Juan Thornhill picked off the four-time NFL MVP to close out the drill, this time jumping a pass over the middle of the field intended for Scotty Miller.
Once the Steelers traded away Minkah Fitzpatrick for Jalen Ramsey this offseason, Thornhill was projected to be the weak link of the unit. However, through a few weeks of training camp at Latrobe, the seventh-year veteran, who was acquired in free agency for a one-year, three-million-dollar contract, has been anything but.
If that’s the case, then the Steelers are likely to look like a much better unit than the one that was gashed for 464 yards by the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card Round in January. Thornhill’s expectations for the defense are a little higher than that, evoking thoughts of the ‘85 Bears, 2000 Ravens, and ‘08 Steelers.
“I think it could be one of the best of all time,” Thornhill told reporters on Wednesday, “and I’m putting that into the air now.
Juan Thornhill thinks this Steelers defense could be "one of the best of all time." pic.twitter.com/HKpWH9tF3e
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Juan Thornhill sees no weakness on the Steelers defense
When asked about his confidence in the group, Thornhill doubled down.
“Literally, we got pieces everywhere,” Thornhill said. “When you look at the roster, when you look at the pieces we have, it’s incredible. I don’t feel like there’s a weakness on the defense. If you look at most teams, you know you got the fish out there, that one person or one or two people that it’s like ‘uh I’m not sure’ but us, we got a front that’s unbelievable, linebackers that’s great, and DBs that can cover anyone.”
A year ago, with many of those same pieces, the Steelers finished eighth in scoring defense and 12th in yards per game. It was a group that largely unperformed the investment that general manager Omar Khan and the franchise made in it.
As the most expensive defense in the NFL, the defensive coordinator Terryl Austin’s unit was expected to carry quarterback Russell Wilson and a lackluster offense. Instead, it put up some of its worst performances of the season in the biggest spots, allowing 27 to the Eagles, 34 to the Ravens, and 29 points to the Chiefs in an 0-3 stretch from Week 15-17 as the team closed the year on a four-game losing streak.
The Ramsey trade, free agent acquisition of Darius Slay, and addition of Derrick Harmon in the first round of the draft are all cause for optimism, but Thornhill is getting ahead of himself if he feels this group will be deserving of a place in the pantheon of NFL defenses.