Pittsburgh Steelers' Defense Could Consist Of Three Rookie Starters

By Jason Shawley

The Pittsburgh Steelers have needed to address their secondary issues for the past couple of years, and with the recent release of cornerback Cortez Allen, they couldn’t avoid the position in the draft.

Allen was signed to a five-year, $26 million extension just prior to the 2014 season and it proved to be a huge mistake. He was ultimately benched that season in favor of Brice McCain, who is also no longer with the team.

Many expected Pittsburgh to take a corner in the first round of last year’s draft, but were surprised when they opted to take linebacker Bud Dupree. He’s a talented player, but having been the third straight year they selected a linebacker, the pick irritated a few fans.

They finally broke the trend a few weeks ago when they selected Miami‘s Artie Burns with the 25th overall pick. Some call it a reach, but he has a high ceiling and they’re very high on his character. Burns has been through a lot of personal tragedy and appears extremely motivated to be the best he can be to provide for his young child.

The Steelers are also high on last year’s second-round pick, Senquez Golson. Head coach Mike Tomlin believes they can be championship corners together. Burns doesn’t necessarily fit the Steelers’ existing scheme, but the team believes his skill is the most important factor. Successful teams mold their scheme around the players they have rather than drafting to fit a scheme. It widens the amount of players who are available to you.

Pittsburgh wasn’t done bolstering its secondary. It took versatile safety Sean Davis in the second round and he’ll give the team a certain amount of flexibility. At Maryland, Davis transitioned from safety to corner prior to his final season and played exceptionally well. He’s a natural corner, though, and the Steelers hope to pair him with Mike Mitchell at safety.

The Steelers lost Steve McClendon to the New York Jets in the offseason, but filled the void with Javon Hargrave out of South Carolina State. He’s a true inside tackle with pass-rushing abilities that can make him an every-down player. He can help take the pressure off of the overworked ends (Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt).

An already young defense may be getting a bit younger for the time being, and these could be the players who help take Pittsburgh’s defense back to the elite level we’ve historically seen from it. The offense is good enough to cover a lot of the mistakes the rookies may make during their development.

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