The Pittsburgh Steelers have a lot of ‘dawgs’ in their cornerback room. That’s certainly not a bad problem to have. But it does make things a little complicated when it comes to certain assignments, like guarding an opponent’s WR1. Mike Tomlin has assigned that task to Jalen Ramsey.
Joey Porter Jr. wants those matchups too, though. While he may not get them just yet, Ramsey is appreciative of the confidence from his young teammate.
“Yeah, that’s how it should be,” Ramsey said after Tuesday’s practice via Post-Gazette Sports. “Joe should want those matchups, and there will be times he will get those matchups just because of different things that I have to do. And I hope he continues to challenge me throughout the year, to want those opportunities. If what’s best for the defense and the team is Joey being on a guy, I’m cool with that, I’ll go do another responsibility or another role to help the team out.”
Porter’s been able to guard top receivers throughout his career thus far, but that’s going to change this year. Obviously Porter is going to want those matchups, but it makes sense that Ramsey is going to get them first. He’s been established in the NFL for far longer than Porter, and is still playing at a high level. Porter still has a little growing to do, incurring some problems with penalties in 2024.
That’s not a huge knock on Porter though. He’s still a very talented corner. And he should get his chances this year, because Tomlin’s desire to make Jalen Ramsey CB1 is likely not going to be able to last the whole year. Tomlin has also said he wants all three of Ramsey, Porter and Slay on the field at once. Since the latter two can’t play nickel, that would mean Ramsey is taken off the WR1 for those snaps. Or, for Ramsey to be against opponents’ WR1s, one of Slay or Porter might have to come off the field in nickel packages.
Again, these are good problems to have. Especially when some of the depth behind them has impressed recently. Even if one of those three has to come off the field, the Steelers should still be in good shape. Beanie Bishop Jr. had some great moments in his rookie season, and Brandin Echols is impressing this preseason as well.
These assignments will likely change as the season goes on. Some weeks Jalen Ramsey will be outside against a WR1, and other times he’ll see action in the slot, or at safety. One thing we do know, there’s an overflow of talent at this position, and they’re all pushing each other to excel.
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