The Pittsburgh Steelers have completely remade their secondary in the offseason, trading away Minkah Fitzpatrick to acquire Jalen Ramsey and signing Darius Slay in free agency. Both of these veterans will join upstart Joey Porter Jr. in a revamped new defensive backfield for the 2025 campaign.
While this is great news for a Steelers team that has consistently been smacked out of the playoffs after barely squeaking in during their last few campaigns, there will be plenty of young players who might not be able to get over the line as a result of these new additions.
Based on the way the roster is shaking out in the upcoming months, 2025 seventh-round pick Donte Kent might need a serious stroke of good luck if he is going to make the final 53-man roster.
Donte Kent might not make Steelers final 53-man roster
Kent is a polarizing player. A four-year starter at Central Michigan who was one of the best players in the MAC throughout his college tenure, Kent possesses tremendous speed and a feistiness at the point of attack that helped get the Steelers interested in him.
However, Kent is a smaller player at 5-10 and 190 pounds on a good day. His tackling is thoroughly average, and he only had two interceptions to his name throughout his college. Pittsburgh using a pick on him is slightly surprising, as many scouting services graded him as an undrafted free agent.
The top three cornerbacks on this roster are set in stone, as Ramsey, Slay, and Porter are the starters. UDFA gem Beanie Bishop figures to stick around on the roster alongside 2023 draft pick Cory Trice and Jets free agent signing Brandin Echols. At best, Kent will enter camp as the seventh-best cornerback.
Even then, Kent will need to beat out James Pierre and 2024 UDFA D'Shawn Jamison. While his return skills could help him carve out an alternate path to the final roster, Kent is facing a very uphill battle when it comes to impressing purely as a cornerback.
Kent could be a solid practice squad candidate who is kept in proverbial cryostasis until the Steelers need a returner or cornerback depth. However, barring injury or a cataclysmic preseason performance from one of the players ahead of him, Kent may not get that 53-man golden ticket.