For an organization that has arguably become the NFL’s gold standard in drafting and developing its roster, the Pittsburgh Steelers finally found themselves a quality cornerback duo in an unconventional way.
They paid for it.
Using free agency to fill holes? Signing veteran retreads? That’s the way of Dallas, or Washington or New York, or so the accepted doctrine has become in Pittsburgh. Sometimes, though, you actually get what you pay for.
And by way of about $75 million in contracts given out over the past three years, the Steelers appear to have acquired what they have spent a generation searching for: a pair of shutdown-style cornerbacks to play the outside of their defense.
“We have two lockdown corners,” Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds said of Joe Haden and Steven Nelson.
“That tandem,” coach Mike Tomlin said earlier in the week, “of (Nelson) and Joe Haden is one of the central reasons why we’re excited about the potential of that back-end group.”
Column from @KGorman_Trib | Joe Haden and Steve Nelson are the unsung heroes of the #Steelers secondary this seasonhttps://t.co/sj3T5hRuEV
— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) November 13, 2019
Haden signed a $27 million deal within hours of getting cut by the Cleveland Browns late during the 2017 training camp (he signed a two-year, $22 extension late last summer). Nelson arrived in March 2019 via what is the largest contract the Steelers ever have given a player signed away from another team in unrestricted free agency: three years, $25.5 million.
The first Haden contract and the Nelson contract represent the two biggest expenditures in Steelers history for a player not previously part of the organization.
Sure, the Steelers have hit home runs on the rare occasions they entered the big-ticket market — James Farrior and Jeff Hartings come to mind — but bringing together two veteran players at the same position is almost unheard of for the Steelers. And they only resorted to it after a host of swings-and-misses at cornerback in the draft.
By the time Nelson and Haden partnered up during the regular season last year, the Steelers had taken 14 cornerbacks over the previous 11 drafts. Of those 14, only Keenan Allen and Artie Burns started more than half of a season’s worth of games, and those two combined for only three such seasons.
So, instead, the Steelers were often forced to rely on waiver claims and castoffs such as Antwon Blake, Brice McCain and Ross Cockrell to fill in at corner.
The results were lukewarm. Finally, after spending five picks in Rounds 1-4 of the three previous drafts on cornerbacks, the Steelers had enough, especially when a player of Haden’s caliber unexpectedly became available in late August.
After two seasons using a combination of Burns and/or Coty Sensabaugh as Haden’s running mate, the Steelers targeted Nelson after he had been a three-year starter over four seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs.
“We can count on those two to lock somebody down or shut somebody down at any time,” Edmunds said.
“You just know those are the type of guys who are always going to go out there and always be in the right positions, their communication is going to be on point and everything is going to be taken care of on the outside.”
The signings of Joe Haden and Steven Nelson have provided the #Steelers with one Dynamic Duo. https://t.co/j9LXS2mi8Q
— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) June 7, 2020
Together, Haden and Nelson have 15 NFL seasons, 199 games, 176 starts, 32 interceptions and 180 passes defensed. A former No. 7 overall pick, Haden was named to a Pro Bowl roster for the third time last season. A 2015 third-round pick, Nelson has not gotten Pro Bowl recognition, but Pro Football Focus rated him as the NFL’s 10th-best cornerback last season.
“They’re a quality veteran tandem,” Tomlin said. “Not only that, not resting on their resumes, they’ve had good training camp processes, both guys. Both guys came in great condition. Both guys performed at a consistent high level through this process. That’s where I find my comfort.”
The Steelers ranked third in the NFL last season in passing yards against and were second in interceptions. PFF rated them fifth in the NFL in its subjective pass-defense ratings, and footballoutsiders.com pegged the Steelers’ as the league’s fourth-best in pass defense.
While Minkah Fitzpatrick, Mike Hilton, Edmunds and the pass-rushers played their parts in that, that the Steelers finally found themselves a quality outside CB duo might be the biggest reason why.
“We all feel like underdogs,” Nelson said. “I think that gives us the extra chip on our shoulder. We are not the guys to be satisfied with the previous season. We’ve been all working hard to try and get the recognition. Like I said, work hard because we are all making a great statement for our team.
“Collectively, we all want to be a step better from last year.”
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Chris Adamski is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chris by email at cadamski@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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