The 2019 NFL Draft is fast-approaching, which means we’re coming up on the one year anniversary of when the Steelers shocked the football world by making Terrell Edmunds their first-round pick. Will the Steelers shock the world again by taking another safety with a premium pick? Furthermore, should they? Let’s dive in!
Terrell Edmunds returns his first interception at Tampa Bay. Photo Credit: Karl Rosner, Steelers.com
Steelers Safety Depth Chart Going into the 2019 NFL Draft: The Starters
It was baptism by fire for Terrell Edmunds a year ago, thanks to early-season injuries that kept Morgan Burnett, the highly-thought of Packers veteran the Steelers signed as a free agent, out of the lineup. Terrell Edmunds started 15 games at strong safety, and while he didn’t wow you with production and splash plays, he certainly gained valuable experience that should help him going into his sophomore year.
As for Sean Davis, after spending his first two seasons at strong safety, the departure of Mike Mitchell allowed Davis to move to free safety, which seemed to be a much better fit for his skill-set. 2018 was far from a Pro Bowl season for Sean Davis, but, at 25, he did seem to find the best position for his grow and development as a professional moving into his fourth season.
Moreover, Sean Davis had a key role in helping the Steelers limit the long plays that had plagued them in 2017.
Steelers Safety Depth Chart Going into the 2019 NFL Draft: The Backups
Thanks to being displeased with his role of an all-everything safety who was expected to move around the secondary and even play the dime linebacker role, Morgan Burnett requested and was ultimately granted his release from the Steelers this spring.
- Fact is, after selecting Terrell Edmunds in the first round last year, the handwriting was on the wall for Morgan Burnett in terms of a long-term starting role.
But with Morgan Burnett gone, what does that do to Pittsburgh’s depth chart at the safety position? Veteran Jordan Dangerfield is probably the top backup at the moment, but he’s also quite inexperienced as far as 28-year old safeties go and is more of a special teams player than anything.
There was hope that Marcus Allen, a fifth-round pick out of Penn State a year ago, would be able to flourish in the modern football world of specialization, where safeties are asked to play dime linebacker and the slot (this was also the impetus for drafting Terrell Edmunds in the first round). And while that hope may still be there, it certainly isn’t based on anything the youngster did in 2018, as he appeared in just two games.
Rounding out the depth chart at safety appears to be Brian Allen, a fifth-round pick in 2017 who spent his first two seasons as a cornerback.
The Steelers 2019 Safety Draft Needs
It’s quite obvious the Steelers safety position is lacking in quality depth. Pittsburgh does appear to have starters at the top of the depth chart.
- But is that enough?
Again, this is an era of specialization, particularly on defense where the backups are not only expected to play many reps, they’re expected to assume many hybrid roles. Besides all of that, Sean Davis is entering the final year of his rookie deal. Therefore, the Steelers draft need at safety can best be categorized as Moderate.
