With all the talk about the Pittsburgh Steelers situation at cornerback, safety might be the most underrated need for the team. Pittsburgh relies heavily on their safeties and will often put three on the field at the same time.
The Steelers will be minus Morgan Burnett after his release and Mike Mitchell isn’t coming back. So let’s take a look at the safety depth chart and how the draft could figure into getting this group in order.
Sean Davis
Depending on who you ask, Sean Davis either had a pretty good season or a pretty awful one. According to Pro Football Focus, Davis was the No. 40 safety in the league in 2018 indicating he was kind of middle of the road. Davis makes a big play or two every game but is still fairly inconsistent.
Terrell Edmunds
Plenty of folks were shocked when the Steelers drafted Terrell Edmunds in the first round last season. And while he wasn’t great as a rookie he did well after being pushed into the starting lineup early. But Pittsburgh is going to need much better play out of him in 2019.
Marcus Allen
Fans loved it when the Steelers drafted former Penn State star Marcus Allen last season. But his rookie season was spent mostly inactive on gamedays. Is Allen the guy to replace Burnett this season?
Jordan Dangerfield
Dangerfield has been on and off of the Steelers active roster for the past three seasons. He’s got three career starts but his game is more about energy and effort and less about elite skills. He’s great on special teams and a fan favorite.
Overall
It’s hard to look at this group and be loaded with confidence. Davis is entering the final year of his rookie contract and really needs to make an impression. But the 2019 class has multiple guys I believe could supplant him int he starting lineup now. Nevertheless, even if we assume Davis and Edmunds can play well enough as starters, this team needs a third safety who could play half the defensive snaps.
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