By necessity, the Steelers moved Jalen Ramsey to safety last week, but it could be a permanent move—and for the better. So says Doug Whaley, a former NFL general manager, during his regular appearances on 93.7 The Fan. Earlier in the year, he pushed for the Steelers to use him as a shutdown cornerback, but he’s reversed course.
“I think this is the way he can be the most impactful for the Steelers’ defense”, Whaley said of Ramsey. “And I was the one earlier in the year banging on the table saying he should cover the No. 1 receiver and be the lockdown [guy]. Look, I was wrong. He’s not a shutdown corner anymore, but that doesn’t mean he still can’t be an impactful football player in the way they are using him now as a free safety”.
The Steelers acquired Jalen Ramsey via trade over the summer, supporting lofty visions for an elite secondary. They have fallen well short of that mark, and his play has been a part of that. While he has made impactful plays in isolation, he has also struggled as a true cover corner. How much of that is due to diminishing athletic ability versus overload of responsibility, it’s hard to quantify.
But it’s undeniable that Ramsey lost his share of one-on-one battles when the Steelers put him on an island. The good news is that both parties have been open to moving him around all along. Ramsey talked about wanting to play safety at the end of his career. Perhaps he was slow to recognize the beginning of the end, rather than the end of the beginning.
Whaley talked about the significance of moving Ramsey to safety in putting him in position to make plays rather than give them up. “It’s easier to do at the free safety position and let him really use his instincts, his ball-hawking ability, his aggressiveness, to the betterment of his production”, he said. And he thinks the Steelers deserve credit for their recognition and acknowledgement of this.
“I give kudos to the coaching staff”, he said, for “saying, ‘Hey, let’s stop trying to put this square peg in a round hole’”. Of course, it remains to be seen whether the Steelers are going to leave Ramsey at safety. But it does seem that way for now.
And with the way he debuted at safety this past week, that doesn’t seem like a bad thing. The Steelers do list him at safety this week, but will that stick beyond then? I can’t help but wonder if their interest in Asante Samuel Jr. is an acknowledgement of their desire, even plans, to keep Ramsey on the back end.
Ramsey made five tackles in his debut as a full-time safety against the Colts. That included an early run stop on 3rd and short on which he demonstrated his physicality. Later in the game, he had a big hit down the field that drew an unnecessary roughness penalty. It will be interesting to see whether he receives a fine for that one.
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