Steelers address ‘press-ing' need by adding outside CBs adept at man defense

As Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin spoke with media Friday evening, he dropped names.

Darius Slay. Bobby Taylor. Jimmy Smith. Ike Taylor.

The former three were Pro Bowl cornerbacks who Austin worked with over a two-decade coaching career in the NFL. The latter has arguably been the Steelers’ best cornerback of the past quarter century.

What did they have in common, and why were those names relevant to the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator this past week?

“One of the things we always do,” Austin said of the Steelers’ staff evaluation of cornerbacks, “is we look at guys and we want to know, ‘Hey, how do they play in the press?’”

And among the best in the NFL at playing press coverage in their respective eras are/were Slay (still active), Smith (throughout the 2010s), Bobby Taylor (1995-2004) and Ike Taylor (2003-2014).

Eager to add the next Slay or Taylor, the Steelers spent two of their seven selections in last week’s draft on big outside cornerbacks whose skillset would seem to translate well to playing press, football lingo for what is loosely defined as a cornerback playing close to the line of scrimmage on an opposing receiver in a man-to-man scheme.

Finding CBs adept at the press was a “press-ing” need for the Steelers, who philosophically prefer to deploy their secondary that way.

“I think when you have that dynamic, if you can get that type of guy, it really does help you,” Austin said. “When you get a guy that can maybe make it so difficult for the other people, you can maybe kick some coverage and do some other things coverage-wise to help others.”

Time will tell if Joey Porter Jr. and/or Cory Trice Jr. can develop into high-caliber NFL press corners. But each has the requisite size and experience for it.

Steelers fans loved the elder Porter in part for having a loud personality.

Two decades later, they’ll get a chance to cheer for his son. https://t.co/v3u9SCZzHM

— Tribune-Review Sports (@TribSports) April 30, 2023

The 6-foot-2, 193-pound Porter was taken out of Penn State with the 32^nd overall pick. Trice (6-3, 206) was drafted in the seventh round out of Purdue.

“Oh man, look at us,” Trice said with excitement soon after being picked. “We’re both (about) 6-foot-3, can run, good press corners. Both of us can tackle.

“We’re just going to go in there and do everything we can do to win.”

To win in the AFC with its bevy of top-flight quarterbacks, the Steelers needed to add some help in the secondary this offseason. Especially after losing their top cornerback, Cameron Sutton, in free agency.

First, they signed likely future Hall of Famer Patrick Peterson. Even moreso than Slay or Smith, Peterson was one of the best man cover corners of his generation (he was on the NFL’s all-decade team for the 2010s). And even though Peterson turns 33 before training camp opens and he played zone roughly three times more often than man (per Pro Football Focus) with the Minnesota Vikings in 2022, Peterson still was stout when matched up in man.

According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Peterson allowed just three catches for 30 yards on nine targets over 111 coverage snaps in man defense last season. Peterson by far had the lowest target rate of any outside cornerback in the NFL in 2022 (his 8.1% target rate was well below runner-up Slay’s 12.1%).

“We’ll look good getting off the bus this year.”https://t.co/VqzuFjM1Kp

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) April 29, 2023

As Austin noted, the well-respected Peterson can mentor the likes of Porter and Trice. Steelers secondary coach Grady Brown noted that Trice, in particular, enters the NFL with fine-tuned press instincts.

“A lot of times in today’s game, guys walk down on the line of scrimmage, and as soon as the receiver moves or the receiver flinches, they back up and we’re giving back the space that we walked down to take away,” Brown said. “He doesn’t do that.

“(Corners need to) stay on the line of scrimmage and make receivers work.”

Per PFF data, the Steelers ranked in the top five of teams that deployed the highest rate of man coverage vs. zone in 2022. Their offseason additions at cornerback — especially via the draft — suggest they intend on doing more of the same in 2023.

“This is Steelers defense,” said Porter, who of course is familiar with the organization after his father starred for it two decades ago. “This is what we’re about. Hard football. We’re going to smack you in the mouth. We’re going to play aggressive, and I feel like that fits my game style.”

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