Cornerback priorities need to change in draft
INDIANAPOLIS — The Steelers have long held on to the belief cornerbacks need to possess two basic attributes to function in their defense — tackle and stop the run.
That was fine for Mel Blount and Rod Woodson, freakish players who could do everything and anything. But not anymore.
The game has changed and it’s time for the Steelers to scrap that mentality and look for the most basic and essential quality a cornerback should possess — can he cover?
Can he line up and cover Tee Higgins or Stefon Diggs or A.J. Brown, just to name three receivers who tortured their secondary with big pass plays in 2022?
There is no pressing need to worry if he can stop Joe Mixon around the edge.
That’s why you have linebackers and slot corners.
They had that type of cover corner with Ike Taylor.
They had that type of player when they signed Joe Haden in free agency.
But since Mike Tomlin became coach, their attempts to find that type of cornerback in the draft have failed miserably — maybe because the way they evaluate cornerbacks is based on the wrong qualities.
When he was serving as defensive coordinator at the Senior Bowl, Steelers secondary coach Grady Brown said of the responsibilities of the cornerback prospects in the draft: “The first thing we have to do in our division is we have to tackle. It’s not just a cover situation in our division.”
Being able to tackle is, of course, a prerequisite of playing football.
But in today’s NFL, with the league’s best teams possessing the league’s best quarterbacks, the first thing a cornerback needs to be able to do is cover. Forget stopping the run. If the Steelers are looking for an answer in the draft to help complete their defense, find a cover cornerback who has the ability to shut down the other team’s top receivers. Change how you evaluate the position.
And leave the run stopping to the seven guys up front.
Sling, slam and hip drops
The league’s competition committee, of which Tomlin is a member, met at the combine to discuss proposals and possible recommendations that could be presented to the owners at the annual meetings later this month in Phoenix.
According to Judy Battista of NFL Network, the prime topic will focus on allowing roughing the passer penalties to be reviewed by replay — a proposal by the Los Angeles Rams that could have a hard time passing because of the league’s sensitivity to further prolonged delays.
The other issue being discussed is the elimination of the so-called “hip-drop” tackle that injured Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard on back-toback days in the postseason.
During its meeting, the competition committee looked at 80 plays of roughing the passer and deemed only three to be questionable,
Battista said. Much of the discussion centered on having officials differentiate between the “sling,” which is considered a natural and acceptable progression of the tackle, and the “slam,” which is when a player picks up the quarterback and slams him to the ground.
However, owners are likely to oppose using replay because of the calamity that existed when they voted to allow pass interference to be reviewed by replay. That rule was eliminated after one season because of the lengthy delays it caused.
The hip-drop tackle involves a defender going to ground and using his weight to yank down the ballcarrier. That type of tackle caused Pollard to break his leg and suffer a high ankle sprain in a divisional playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers.
The next day, Mahomes sustained a high ankle sprain on a similar tackle by Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Arden Key. Mahomes missed part of the game but continued to play through the postseason and lead the Chiefs to the Super Bowl.
The idea of making the tackle illegal has been criticized by defensive players around the league, including Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt.
“It’s tough because as an edge defender, you’re often chasing plays down from the backside and you have to lay out and you can’t possibly run through the tackle,” Watt said on the Pat McAfee Show last month. “So you have to kind of just grab and fall down as best as you can. Nothing is malicious.”