If the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to have any success this year, it’s likely going to come off the strength of their defense. And the strength of that unit should be the secondary, one led by big-name players like Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay, Joey Porter Jr. and DeShon Elliott. That’s a group Mike Tomlin is extremely excited about, according to Steelers insider Gerry Dulac.
“I have never seen [Tomlin] so, almost giddy, about a unit on his football team as he is about this secondary,” Dulac said Saturday night on WDVE’s Pregame Show. “And what he has by bringing in Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey to go with Joey Porter and the possibilities in man and press coverage that it presents. He’s just talked excitedly, and like I said, almost giddily, about the prospects of having those guys on the field.”
It’s a group Tomlin should be excited about. In Ramsey and Slay, he has two players who’ve excelled at the cornerback position for many years and are still playing at a high level. Porter represents the Steelers’ CB1 of the future, and he’s now got two terrific veterans to learn from. Of course Tomlin is excited about the group. It could be one of the better individual position groups of his tenure.
Tomlin wants to have all of them on the field at the same time. However, that could be easier said than done. To have all three on the field at once, Ramsey will have to play in the slot since Slay and Porter fit best on the outside. However, Mike Tomlin also says he wants Jalen Ramsey to face opponents’ WR1s. That makes sense given his resume but does likely require Ramsey to play on the outside. That makes things more complicated. Neither Porter nor Slay have a ton of experience in the slot. Pittsburgh might have to consider pulling one of them off the field for a guy like Brandin Echols or Beanie Bishop Jr.
That said, having too many talented cornerbacks is certainly not a bad problem to have. But with so many new faces on the unit, it’s going to take some time to jell. The secondary wasn’t great in Pittsburgh’s joint practice on Thursday. Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles even decided not to play Baker Mayfield or Mike Evans last night since the two played so well against Pittsburgh’s defense.
That’s not ideal. But there’s plenty of time to go until the season begins. And joint practices are not equivalent to a regular-season game. With all the talent in this group, they should be able to prove Mike Tomlin right in his excitement about the unit.
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