The Pittsburgh Steelers’ secondary had a rough start to this year. However, it’s looked better recently. One of the biggest reasons for that is that Jalen Ramsey is playing safety now. He was moving around more before that, splitting time between corner and safety. While he’s been a corner throughout the rest of his NFL career, he doesn’t look out of place currently. Ben Roethlisberger even thinks Ramsey could become one of the best safeties in the league.
“You know what [Jalen] Ramsey’s gonna give you back there,” Roethlisberger said Tuesday on his Footbahlin’ podcast. “He is a fast, instinct guy, been in the league, All-Pro. I think there’s a chance he’s gonna develop into an All-Pro safety. I think that’s how good he is and the potential that he has.”
Ramsey has been named an All-Pro three times in his career, with the last selection coming in 2021. Switching positions and being named an All-Pro again could be tough. There haven’t been many players who have been able to accomplish that. Some examples include Rod Woodson, Charles Woodson, and Ronnie Lott.
All of those players are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, though. That speaks to the level of difficulty that comes with moving from corner to safety and being named an All-Pro at both positions.
Ramsey might be able to do it, though. It’s not like the position is totally foreign to him, either. He played safety at a high level in college. While he only has a few NFL games under his belt at safety, he’s been a difference-maker. His presence has stabilized the Steelers’ secondary. The Steelers still have seven games left to play. Perhaps Ramsey will do enough to contend for that honor this year.
However, even if he doesn’t, he could do it in the future. Getting a full offseason working strictly at safety could help him. He might only be scratching the surface of his potential at the position. Ramsey is 31, but he could extend his career by moving to safety. Players have done that before. It will be the level at which he can play safety that will be interesting to watch.
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