Pittsburgh decides to go heavy on safeties heading into the season
Cornerback (5): Patrick Peterson, Joey Porter Jr., Levi Wallace, James Pierre, Chandon Sullivan
With Cory Trice Jr. lost for the season due to injury, cornerback seems obvious for the time being. Other than Luq Barcoo making some plays, these five seem to be obvious choices to make the team. A mixture of Patrick Peterson, Joey Porter Jr., and Levi Wallace will be the starting cornerback’s week one.
James Pierre showed that he can be a reliable backup in week one of the preseason and has prior starting experience. Chandon Sullivan is the only one on the roster with a good number of experience in the slot role. There could always be an outside addition at cornerback once initial cuts come through and teams look to upgrade in certain areas.
Safety (6): Minkah Fitzpatrick, Keanu Neal, Damontae Kazee, Miles Killebrew, Tre Norwood, Elijah Riley
Minkah Fitzpatrick is a start for this team, and it seems like Keanu Neal and Damontae Kazee will see numerous starting snaps at safety. It will be interesting to see how the coaches try and divide those snaps up between the two. Miles Killebrew remains on the roster as a quality leader in the locker room and someone that plays well on special teams.
Tre Norwood sticks on the team as he can fill a couple different roles in the secondary if needed. He also plays well on special teams and has a chunk of NFL experience there. Elijah Riley does find a way to stay on the team when they get down to 53 players. He has done a lot of things in training camp that has shown position flexibility and that should get him on the team.