Steelers take another cornerback in 7th round, 6-foot-3 Cory Trice

This might be looked back on as a draft in which the Pittsburgh Steelers went big at cornerback.

Really big.

Less than 24 hours after drafting 6-foot-2 ½, 193-pound cornerback Joey Porter Jr. in Round 2, the Steelers spent the first of their two seventh-round picks on an even bigger corner: 6-3, 206-pound Cory Trice of Purdue.

“We’ll look good getting off the bus this year,” Steelers secondary coach Grady Brown said moments after Trice was selected with the 241st overall pick Saturday, referencing the size added to his position room.

Trice appeared in 34 games and started 24 over the past five seasons with Purdue, including 13 in 2022 during which he had two interceptions (including his second career pick-6 against Indiana), 34 tackles (28 solo) and 12 passes defended.

Trice was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection by conference coaches after helping lead the Boilermakers to the West Division title and appearance in the Big Ten championship game.

“He did a great job at Purdue, taking up a lot of space on the line of scrimmage. He played a lot of press coverage, and that’s huge — and really just the way he plays press … using that 6-3 frame to take up a lot of space and make guys work on the line of scrimmage.”

The NFL’s official website projected Trice to go in Rounds 4-5, and mockdraftdatabase.com’s compilation of online media and analyst mock drafts found Trice was taken, on average, in the fourth round.

The Steelers were able to get him just 18 picks away from “Mr. Irrelevant.”

Unlike Porter, who repeatedly expressed how dropping from Round 1 to the top of the second round will be used as fuel, Trice has no ill will about his draft tumble.

“I am just happy just to be here (in this position) and happy they took a chance on me,” Trice said. “And I just promise the Steelers fans and Steelers nation that the Steelers will not regret it.”

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