The Pittsburgh Steelers have been busy so far this offseason, adding a bunch of experienced names to the roster as they look to compete in the first year under head coach Mike McCarthy.
They’ve made some splash moves, like trading for wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. and giving him a three-year extension. They’ve also made some under-the-radar moves that have plenty of media members buzzing.
For Kay Adams, who hosts the Up And Adams show, the Steelers made two signings in the secondary that she raved about Tuesday morning. That would be the addition of cornerback Jamel Dean and safety Jaquan Brisker.
Adams called those two additions her No. 2 favorite move of the offseason, citing the Steelers addressing a significant need and shoring up a position they struggled at last season.
“I can pretty confidently say that because of these moves, that’s not gonna continue and they really addressed a need here. Dean had the lowest passer rating allowed of any corner in the NFL last year,” Adams said of the Steelers additions, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “The Steelers have a ton of depth in that secondary and some pieces that can play all over the field. So we’ll see what that means for the way they plan on utilizing Jalen Ramsey this year.
“This is a group that is going from…liability to strength is what they’re doing here and you gotta love that for them.”
Last season was a bit of a mess for the Steelers in the secondary. Injuries caused major issues, leading to Jalen Ramsey shifting to safety to cover for the loss of DeShon Elliott. Poor play didn’t help, either, leading to Darius Slay getting cut, all but ending his career.
The Steelers tried to address it at the trade deadline with the addition of Kyle Dugger and the signing of Asante Samuel Jr., but Pittsburgh never quite figured it out in the secondary.
Now, with the additions of Dean and Brisker, not to mention the signing of Darnell Savage and the re-signing of Samuel, the Steelers have to feel very good about the secondary as a whole.
On paper, it looks pretty deep. The only real question is what happens with Ramsey. If he moves back to corner, slot corner is filled. If he remains at safety, Brisker’s role comes into question just a bit. But that’s a good problem to have if you’re the Steelers.
Regardless of how things shake out in the secondary, the Steelers look pretty deep in the room right now. That’s a significant upgrade from how things looked last season, especially late in the year.
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