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Pittsburgh Steelers: Secondary Is In Trouble

By Dan Thomas

Sep 10, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) catches a touchdown pass while being defensed by Pittsburgh Steelers free safety Mike Mitchell (23) and strong safety Will Allen (20) during the second quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 10, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) catches a touchdown pass while being defensed by Pittsburgh Steelers free safety Mike Mitchell (23) and strong safety Will Allen (20) during the second quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports /
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It’s not as if the Pittsburgh Steelers neglected to improve their secondary during the offseason. Yet, that doesn’t mean the team’s weakest link from the previous two seasons won’t be the same in 2016.

The Pittsburgh Steelers secondary will look strikingly different from last year in terms of both starters and depth. For a team that gave up the third-most passing yards per game in 2015, that should be a good thing right?

Related Story: Was Artie Burns a Good Pick in Round One?

Well for the long-run, yes (hopefully).

For instant gratification and results? Probably not.

The team is only returning two of their four starters in the secondary with cornerback William Gay and free safety Mike Mitchell. The other starting cornerback in 2015, Antwon Blake, signed with the Tennessee Titans in the off-season and strong safety Will Allen was not re-signed and is currently a free agent.

Backup cornerback Brandon Boykin signed with the Carolina Panthers in the off-season and Cortez Allen was released after missing all but one game in 2015. In turn, the Steelers added cornerback Artie Burns with their first-round pick in last week’s NFL Draft and safety Sean Davis in the second-round. The Steelers basically got rid of the experienced and/or ineffective veterans. They are now relying heavily on the handful of young players they acquired in just over a year’s time to improve the unit.

Oct 1, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Darren Waller (R) reaches for a pass as Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Antwon Blake (41) defends during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. The Ravens won 23-20 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 1, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Darren Waller (R) reaches for a pass as Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Antwon Blake (41) defends during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. The Ravens won 23-20 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

With the help of Sporting Charts, here’s a quick look at who the Steelers departed with and their numbers:

Departed

CB Antwon Blake (four years experience) – 16 game starter – 919 defensive snaps in 2015 out of 1,105 (83.2%)

SS Will Allen (12 years experience) – 13 game starter – 810 defensive snaps in 2015 out of 1,105 (73.3%)

CB Brandon Boykin (four years experience) – one game starter – 273 defensive snaps in 2015 out of 1,105 (24.7%)

CB Cortez Allen (five years experience) – zero game starter – 32 defensive snaps in 2015 out of 1,105 (2.9%)

Total NFL experience: 25 years

Here are the players that could emerge as major contributors or starters due to the vacant spots:

Newly Expected Starters or Contributors:

CB Ross Cockrell (two years experience) – seven game starter – 682 defensive snaps in 2015 out of 1,105 (61.7%)

SS Robert Golden (four years experience) – three game starter – 390 defensive snaps in 2015 out of 1,105 (35.3%)

SS Shamarko Thomas (three years experience) zero game starter – 20 defensive snaps in 2015 out of 1,105 (1.8%)

CB Senquez Golson (one year experience) zero game starter – zero defensive snaps in 2015 out of 1,105 (0%)

CB Artie Burns and SS Sean Davis (zero years experience)

Total NFL Experience: 10 years

As you can see, the Steelers secondary lost some players that played significant snaps during the 2015 season. Between the four players that left, they played a total of 2,034 snaps.

People may want to say and/or believe the players that left “weren’t any good” and that it’s a positive they are no longer with the team. That may be true but keep in mind, most of the players coming in to fill those voids are unproven and have very little (if any) NFL experience.

It will take some time for these players to adjust to the NFL game and please do not use draft pedigree as a reason to feel overly optimistic about these players right out of the gate. Too many times there have been players who were drafted high who had little or no impact for their team.

Morris Claiborne, Tavon Wilson, Dee Milliner, D.J. Hayden, D.J. Swearinger, Justin Gilbert and Stanley Jean-Baptiste are some players drafted in rounds one or two between 2012-2014 who have been total disastrous.

Some of the best cornerbacks in the game today (Joe Haden, Chris Harris) or safeties (Kam Chancellor, Eric Weddle and Reshad Jones) couldn’t start right away coming out of college. It wasn’t until year two before they started more than 50 percent of the games for their teams.

Heck, Troy Polamalu didn’t start a single game as a rookie before taking over as a fulltime starter in year two.

Not to mention, all of this speculation is based off of these players being available for an entire 16-game season. Can you imagine if a key player in the secondary like William Gay or Mike Mitchell goes down with an injury?

The Steelers watched Cortez Allen and Senquez Golson, two expected contributors in the secondary, go down with season-ending injuries a year ago.

More nfl spin zone: Pittsburgh Steelers Draft Recap

There are going to be some growing pains that come with the Steelers young secondary. It will happen so brace yourself.

The question is, can they gel together enough as a unit before it’s too late?

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