The Jets have seen as much as we have from All-Pro DB Jalen Ramsey and how the Steelers plan to use him this year. Everybody in the league knows his reputation, but now in Pittsburgh, his role is more of a mystery. We anticipate him playing throughout the secondary, primarily in the slot. But Jets OC Tanner Engstrand isn’t taking anything as a given.
“I do not know”, he said emphatically when asked what he anticipates from Ramsey, via the Jets’ website. “We only have the handful of snaps from the preseason, and that’s what we ‘ve seen from their defense in regards to Ramsey”.
Those who cover the Steelers obviously have a better idea of how they will use Jalen Ramsey than the Jets do. A lockdown outside cornerback, he has long expressed a desire to move around. We have it from his own mouth that he made sure the Steelers were willing to diversify his role before they traded for him.
The Steelers acquired Ramsey by trading starting S Minkah Fitzpatrick. Ramsey should play there, at least sometimes, in their base defense. When they play in their nickel or dime, which will be most of the time, he is likely primarily inside. Joey Porter Jr. and Darius Slay are less versatile and fit best outside.
But there will also be times when Mike Tomlin lines the Steelers’ best defensive back up against their opponents’ best receiver, as Jets WR Garrett Wilson expects from Jalen Ramsey. As is often the case here, the players are more open with their knowledge than the coaches are. But the reality is, anybody who has paid any attention has a sense of the plan.
After all, they have shown it in open practice. In a single series, the Steelers could line up Ramsey in the slot, out wide, and at safety. I don’t know how much we’ll see of that in Week 1 against the Jets. But we do know that he can play everywhere, and he even volunteered to blitz.
One of Ramsey’s greatest role models as a player is Charles Woodson, who also had the ability to play everywhere in the secondary. In the past, he has expressed an interest in moving to safety full-time at the end of his career. For now, he still believes he can do everything, so he’s not quite there yet. And the Steelers are certainly paying him as if he’s not.
Sunday afternoon’s game against the Jets will be our first extended look at the Steelers’ Jalen Ramsey experiment. He played very briefly during the preseason, most notably drawing an unnecessary roughness penalty. Soon to be fully unleashed, Engstrand and company won’t have to wait long for their answers.
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