The Pittsburgh Steelers have been busy this offseason. A flurry of signings and the sprinkle of a Michael Pittman Jr. trade have seemingly shored up several of the blemishes from last season. With several analysts lauding their early moves, PFF’s Dalton Wasserman listed a favorite.
“I’m actually going to go with Jamel Dean out there at corner to pair up with Joey Porter Jr,” said Wasserman on a recent episode of the PFF NFL Show. “I think with Patrick Graham coming in as the offensive coordinator, a lot of off coverage, a lot of cover 3 over the last couple years, one of the heaviest cover 3 users in the NFL. If he brings that same mentality over, I think Dean is a really good fit.”
The one-two combination with Dean and Porter should definitely add some juice to the Steelers’ secondary, which lacked last year. After the headaches of Darius Slay and even Jalen Ramsey when playing outside, the team needed to upgrade.
Dean was one of the top cornerbacks available in the free agency market. He ranked first in the league in passer rating, sitting at 46.9. He also got a favorable grade from PFF, sitting at 81.5, which is good for fourth in the NFL. Perhaps the most underrated part of his game is his physicality and willingness to tackle. Since 2022, he has had the third-best missed tackle percentage among all defensive backs in the NFL at 3.9%.
Jamel Dean signed to cover but he can tackle, too. At an elite level.
Since 2022, he has just a 3.9% missed tackle rate (per PFR). That's 3rd best of 241 DB qualifiers over that span.
— Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) March 9, 2026
Along with being a long-lengthy corner, the team should be able to be pretty scheme-versatile. As Wasserman noted, Graham played a heavy cover 3 scheme with the Raiders, something Dean is familiar with. While Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles would roll and disguise coverages often, he most frequently used cover 3 when going into zone.
I would expect there to be more emphasis on man coverage, due to the length and skill set of the two corners, but Graham, like Bowles, will surely use a variety of looks.
The combination at the corner, mixed with the scheme fix, even has Wasserman expecting the Steelers to have one of the top 1-2 punches in the league. Time will tell if that comes to fruition, but it would certainly be a welcome upgrade for Steelers fans.
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