After a couple of recent early draft picks did not pan out and after evaluating what his defense needs most to improve, Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert and his staff are changing their philosophy on how they evaluate cornerback prospects in advance of this year’s draft.
For years, the Steelers coveted size and tackling ability in their corners, but Colbert said college players that showed ball-hawking skills will be valued more as the team evolves with changes in the league.
“The game has changed,” Colbert said. “Look, we sacked the quarterback at a very good rate, but our takeaways are not very good at all. It’s really reflective on the players we have back there. What we want to look at, what we want to value looking forward, is let’s value the takeaway-capable guys who have shown they’ve been able to do that in college.
“Our game has always been about getting physical players who can come off the edge and close off the edge and make a tackle. But are they doing that at the expense of not making plays on the football? We have to maybe try to find that balance and maybe be more open to the concept that the game is constantly changing, and if you want playmakers in the back end, then find someone who has done it.”
It was revealing insight into the organization’s thought process as Colbert and his scouting staff search for impact players that can help transform the Steelers defense.
Since 2015, the Steelers have picked six defensive backs in the first four rounds of the draft. They have combined for 11 interceptions over the past four seasons. The Steelers had just eight interceptions last season, their lowest total since 1940. That’s not nearly good enough for a defense that continues to struggle in turnover ratio.
Four of those six defensive backs were corners, and none of them finished last season as a starter. Artie Burns, the 2016 first-round pick, was benched midway through the season. Cameron Sutton, a third-round pick in 2017, played sparingly as a reserve. And Senquez Golson and Doran Grant, the second- and fourth-round picks in 2015, never played for the Steelers and are out of the NFL altogether.
As a result of those draft misses, the Steelers are expected to use an early pick, perhaps their first-round selection, on a cornerback this year.
This year’s draft doesn’t have a deep group of cornerbacks, and there isn’t a clear-cut No. 1 player at the position after the combine.
Greedy Williams, of LSU, entered the combine with the most buzz, but other than an impressive 4.38 40-yard dash time, he didn’t perform well in the on-field drills.
Because of his size (6-2, 185) and speed, Williams has the most potential of any corner in this class, but he’s also viewed as the biggest boom-or-bust prospect.
Deandre Baker, of Georgia, Byron Murphy, of Washington, Rock Ya-Sin, of Temple, and Trayvon Mullen, of Clemson, are the other top corners in this class. They’re all considered mid- to late-first-round or second-round picks.
At 5-feet-11, Baker and Murphy are smaller for outside corners and neither runs well. Baker ran a 4.53 and Murphy a 4.55. Those times did nothing to quell the fears they might not be able to cover receivers on deep routes. They were, however, very competitive corners that stuck on receivers at the college level.
If the Steelers are going to value turnovers, they’ll pay close attention to Williams, Murphy and Ya-Sin. Williams had eight interceptions in his two college seasons. Murphy, who left Washington with two years of eligibility remaining, had six career interceptions, including four as a redshirt sophomore last season. Ya-Sin had seven interceptions over his final two college seasons – five at Presbyterian in 2017 and two at Temple last season.
Colbert said college production should translate to the NFL.
“You would think that it would,” Colbert said. “But sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn’t. Artie Burns had five great interceptions as a senior at Miami, and right now Artie is trying to find his game. He had more interceptions than all but one other cornerback in that draft. You hoped that would transfer and early it showed that it might, but right now he has to re-find it.”
Baker and Mullen weren’t known as ball hawks in college. Baker had seven interceptions in 36 career games but never more than three in any season. Mullen had four interceptions in 32 career games.
Baker said opposing quarterbacks shied away from him.
“There was a reason why teams didn’t throw my way,” Baker said, though he said he’d like to improve his ball skills.
If the Steelers don’t draft a corner in the first round, there are several others that could be available in the second round when they pick at No. 52. Julian Love, of Notre Dame, Joejuan Williams, of Vanderbilt and Amani Oruwariye, of Penn State, are among the second wave of corners that are expected to go off the board.
Ray Fittipaldo: rfittipaldo@post-gazette.com and Twitter @rayfitt1.
First Published: March 5, 2019, 4:24 p.m.
