Second in a series of articles analyzing each position as the Steelers prepare for the 2023 NFL draft.
There was only one area where the Steelers were desperate enough to try to upgrade at the 2022 trade deadline. So much so that they acquired an aging, high-priced veteran with a bothersome back.
Mike Tomlin always asks new acquisitions to hop on a moving train, but William Jackson never left the station. In the meantime, Cam Sutton kept chugging along and Levi Wallace got on the right track, helping the cornerback play improve even without any contributions from Jackson or Ahkello Witherspoon, who began the season as a starter.
It was a season of transition after Joe Haden held down the No. 1 cornerback role for five years. Haden injected confidence in the group with his swagger both on the field and off, and now several of his proteges are charged with matching up against the likes of Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson in the AFC North, not to mention Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Justin Herbert in the AFC.
Sutton, Wallace and Witherspoon are all 27 — turning 28 before the 2023 season — but find themselves in different situations. One can go wherever he pleases, one will almost certainly be back and one could find himself cut.
Sutton is a free agent again for the second time in three years. In 2021, the Steelers and Sutton agreed on a two-year extension before free agency opened, and all he’s done since then is establish himself as even more of a key cog in the secondary, starting all but one game and playing nearly every snap.
It’s hard to say what Sutton’s market will be. As much as the Steelers benefit from his versatility and football IQ, other teams could view him as a tweener — not quite an outside corner, not quite a slot corner. And three interceptions don’t jump off the stat sheet, but in today’s NFL, there’s no doubt it’s valuable to have a player capable of moving around.
Wallace came to Pittsburgh after years of having success against the Steelers while with the Bills. He initially played behind the similarly-built Witherspoon on the outside, but once the latter was beset by struggles playing the ball and a nagging hamstring injury, Wallace was thrust into full-time duties.
More snaps equated to more snags for Wallace, who finished with four interceptions, three of which came in the second half of the season. It was also the most picks in a season by a Steelers cornerback since Haden had five in 2019. A former walk-on at Alabama who also carved out a niche in Buffalo despite being undrafted, Wallace has the type of attitude the Steelers love, as well as a longtime friendship with college teammate Minkah Fitzpatrick.
One season before Wallace finished strong, Witherspoon did the same as a first-year Steeler. His encore was nothing to celebrate.
Witherspoon was limited to just four games, three of which saw him beaten badly by Nelson Agholor, Amari Cooper and A.J. Brown. According to Pro Football Reference’s advanced stats, Witherspoon allowed four touchdowns and 8.6 yards per target on a 75.9 completion percentage. He initially returned from his hamstring issue in Week 8 at Philadelphia but did more harm than good, so it’s no wonder the Steelers didn't seem to be in much of a hurry for him to suit up again.
Early December saw Witherspoon placed on injured reserve, and he remained there until the end of the season. He and Wallace were given matching two-year $8 million contracts, and given the disparity in their performance, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Steelers release Witherspoon and give themselves an extra $4 million to spend in free agency — maybe even on Sutton.
Jackson could return, though it definitely won’t be at the exorbitant price stemming from the huge deal Washington gave him in 2021. If he’s not interested in taking a hefty pay cut at age 31, the Steelers surely will move on from him and his more than $12 million cap hit.
Steady role player Arthur Maulet provides experience and physicality but is solely an inside corner, so his playing time was often matchup-specific. There isn’t much in the pipeline other than undrafted feel-good story James Pierre, who hasn’t been particularly good — or at least not particularly consistent — when called upon defensively. Special teams could keep him employed.
Thus, it makes perfect sense to draft their No. 1 corner of the future, likely in the first or second round. If they go that route, they’ll just have to do better than their last early pick at the position, Artie Burns, an enticing athlete who was a draft-and-develop prospect who never developed.
One of the clear-cut candidates to be that guy is none other than Steelers legacy Joey Porter Jr., via Penn State and North Allegheny High School. But you’ll read plenty more about him between now and the draft, so we can go ahead and end this analysis here.
HOW THEY WERE BUILT
Cam Sutton
Age: 27
Acquired: 2017 draft, 3rd round
Contract status: Unrestricted free agent
Levi Wallace
Age: 27
Acquired: Signed in free agency 2022
Contract status: Expires after the 2023 season
Ahkello Witherspoon
Age: 27
Acquired: Re-signed in free agency 2022
Contract status: Expires after the 2023 season
Arthur Maulet
Age: 29
Acquired: Re-signed in free agency 2022
Contract status: Expires after the 2023 season
James Pierre
Age: 26
Acquired: Undrafted free agent in 2020
Contract status: Restricted free agent
William Jackson
Age: 30
Acquired: 2022 trade with Washington
Contract status: Voids after 2023 season
Duke Dawson
Age: 27
Acquired: Signed to practice squad in 2022
Contract status: Reserve/futures contract
Madre Harper
Age: 25
Acquired: Signed in 2023
Contract status: Reserve/futures contract
Chris Wilcox
Age: 26
Acquired: Signed in 2023
Contract status: Reserve/futures contract
Carlins Platel
Age: 23
Acquired: Undrafted free agent in 2022
Contract status: Restricted free agent after the 2024 season
TOP FIVE CB DRAFT PROSPECTS
Devon Witherspoon, Illinois, 6-0, 180, Sr.
Joey Porter Jr., Penn State, 6-2, 194, Jr.
Christian Gonzalez, Oregon, 6-2, 201, Jr.
Cam Smith, South Carolina, 6-0, 187, Jr.
Kelee Ringo, Georgia, 6-2, 205, So.
Source: NFL.com
Brian Batko: bbatko@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrianBatko.
First Published: February 25, 2023, 10:30 a.m.
Updated: February 25, 2023, 2:33 p.m.
