Now in his sixth season in the NFL, James Pierre seems to be blossoming—and it’s not just some accident. A former college free agent out of the University of Central Florida, he made his career on special teams. In previous years, however, he struggled when given his opportunities to play on defense.
Not so this year, and it wasn’t exactly by design. The Steelers loaded up the cornerback room with Joey Porter Jr., Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay, and Brandin Echols. Pierre wasn’t even a lock to make the team. But he’s taking advantage of every opportunity he sees now—and he could have plenty more.
In yesterday’s win, James Pierre recorded six tackles and two passes defensed, recovering a fumble for a touchdown. He now has eight passes defensed on the season, twice as many as he has had in any season. He explained what’s fueling his play when he gets his opportunities this year.
“Just waiting. Just constantly waiting, just remembering the plays I didn’t make a couple years ago. Just waiting”, Pierre said, via the Steelers’ website. He talked about being more on the detail, playing with more confidence, yet staying humble.
One of the highlights of the game for Pierre was a deep pass defensed in coverage against Ja’Marr Chase. Explaining how he was in position to make that play, he said, “Just doing what the coaches asked me to do. When Coach tells us what they might do, just be ready for what they might do. And I was ready for what they might do”.
James Pierre is in many ways the player fans wanted Cory Trice Jr. to be. A tall, big, physical cornerback who came out of nowhere, many envisioned him as some sort of Richard Sherman type. Well, maybe not quite to that level of proficiency, but they harbored thoughts of a starting career.
It might be too early for that, but the way this season is going, Pierre could be starting for the Steelers soon enough. He started yesterday due to Darius Slay being in the concussion protocol. But at what point do they decide that the defense is better with Pierre playing than Slay?
Pierre actually wound up playing over 200 defensive snaps for the Steelers last year. He now has over 1,000 defensive snaps under his belt for his career, all with the Steelers. But he has logged even more snaps on special teams, where he became, effectively, a “starter”.
Yet it’s telling that the Steelers respected James Pierre yesterday by taking him off of his usual duties. As a starting cornerback for the game, he relinquished his gunner role to Scotty Miller and Roman Wilson. It’s been something of a fairytale season for him, but can he keep it going?
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