One of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ biggest moves this offseason was signing CB Jamel Dean. Dean has been a reliable corner during his career, which has been spent entirely with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and it was another attempt by the Steelers to bolster their secondary. After years of failed experiments at cornerback, Ray Fittipaldo pf the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette believes Dean is a good signing to give the Steelers competency at the No. 2 cornerback spot.
“A lot of people say, well, he’s your No. 2 corner. You’ve lacked a No. 2 corner here for basically five, six years ago, was the last time you had a competent No. 2 corner. So for that reason alone, I think he’s a really important piece to Patrick Graham’s defense,” Fittipaldo said on The North Shore Drive podcast.
He mentioned that the Steelers have tried to take swings on free agent corners, but signing aging veterans in Patrick Peterson and Darius Slay didn’t work in Pittsburgh’s favor. At least Peterson brought value as a mentor and eventually was able to move to safety, while Slay was released midseason.
In between those two, the Steelers had Donte Jackson, who made plays on the ball but was inconsistent and oft-injured (though nothing compared to how often Slay left games last season). The Levi Wallace/Cameron Sutton tandem in 2022 was decent, but the point is, it’s been a long time since the Steelers have had two solid cornerbacks.
Of course, we could be looking back at Dean as another failed experiment, though nothing he’s done so far would lead anyone to think he’s doomed for failure. He’s still just 29 years old and has made plays on the ball throughout his career. The big concern is his injury history, but the Steelers supplemented the cornerback room by re-signing Asante Samuel Jr. and drafting Daylen Everette.
Cornerback has long been a position of weakness for the Steelers, and this season it looks like it may be a position of strength. Dean’s level of play will be one of the biggest factors that determines whether the cornerback room will succeed. It’s no surprise that Fittipaldo views him as such an important piece for the Steelers’ defense, as he has the ability to really strengthen the team’s cornerback room if he can come in and play well.
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