Jamel Dean is coming off arguably his best season in Year 7, and now with the Steelers, he wants to do even more. A year ago at age 29, he posted a career-high 3 interceptions, adding 9 passes defensed. He added a pair of forced fumbles for good measure and turned one interception into six points.
“Coming off a season like that just makes me [feel] like I want to do more”, Dean said via the Steelers’ website. “And with the personnel and defensive staff we have, I feel like they’ll help me reach those goals that I’ve got set for myself”.
A former 2019 third-round pick, Jamel Dean has played his entire career with the Buccaneers. Now going into his age-30 season, he is changing teams for the first time. But he already likes what he sees here and believes he fits the scheme and culture. Including with new DC Patrick Graham, who gave him a hard time before the draft.
“He comes in early and he tries to get everybody together so we could all understand the same thing that he’s trying to teach us for his scheme”, Dean said of Graham. “He [does] a good job of communicating, and he’s gonna bring energy”.
The Steelers have nearly an entirely new coaching staff this year following HC Mike Tomlin’s resignation. Pittsburgh hired Mike McCarthy to replace him, who largely filled the staff with former assistants. His time briefly overlapped with Graham, and Joe Whitt, a 20-year coaching veteran, is now running Jamel Dean’s group in the secondary.
Whitt happened to play at Auburn, Dean’s alma mater, though at wide receiver. Dean has talked about learning a physical style of play from his college days, which he’ll carry over to Pittsburgh. He knew that going in, which he believes fits his game effortlessly.
“You’ve got to be able to cover and tackle at the same time”, Dean said. “Because nowadays, the offense is gonna have plays designed for you to tackle. If you don’t want to tackle, you’re gonna have a long game. So I’d rather set the tone early, like, ‘Hey, I’m willing to tackle’”.
Jamel Dean has always been a strong tackler, and the Steelers have had some issues on that front in the secondary in recent years. If he can help tighten that up, it would be a big help. It didn’t help Pittsburgh last year to lose S DeShon Elliot, one of their surest tacklers on the roster.
But the Steelers need Dean to be a playmaker, in whatever capacity that calls for. His 3 interceptions a year ago would be a good feat to repeat, but he also needs to make run stops. They may ask him to blitz, as well, and he did add his first career sack in 2025. But is he on the verge of bringing his game to another level as he’s set to turn 30 years old? And can the Steelers be the organization that brings it out of him?
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