Main as much as the beginning of the brand new NFL 12 months, the Pittsburgh Steelers had a big want on the cornerback place.
On Wednesday, the Steelers addressed that want with two fast strikes, touchdown veteran cornerback Darius Slay and cornerback Brandin Echols, strengthening their depth chart in an enormous manner on the place of want. Echols is an effective depth cornerback to have as a No. 3 or No. 4 on the skin, whereas Slay stays an enormous title with some manufacturing.
The priority with Slay is that he’s 34 years outdated and performs a younger man’s place. However for ESPN’s Seth Walder, he’s nonetheless a serviceable cornerback who’s an improve for the Steelers, giving them a “fairly excessive ground” on the place of want.
In a chunk for ESPN.com grading the largest free company signings and trades, Walder gave the Slay addition a “B” grade.
“At 34, there’s no query Slay is an outdated cornerback. His yards allowed per protection snap have crept up from 0.8 in 2022 to 1.1 in 2023 and 1.2 in 2024 (a shade greater than common), per NFL Subsequent Gen Stats. Similar cope with his goal price, which has climbed from 12% to fifteen% (a shade greater than common) to 17%,” Walder writes. “Taking part in reverse Quinyon Mitchell final season might need contributed to the upper goal price, although. Regardless of the above, a workforce needing secondary assist might do rather a lot worse than these numbers and Slay most likely offers the Steelers a fairly excessive ground given his persistently stable efficiency for greater than a decade.
“There’s one thing to be mentioned for short-term commitments at cornerback, a place that’s typically risky 12 months to 12 months. I’m certain a minimum of one or two of the massive multiyear cornerback offers handed out this offseason will look tough a 12 months from now.”
At first look, giving Slay a one-year, $10 million deal looks like a little bit of an overpay. However he’s a participant the Steelers have coveted lately, they usually lastly had been capable of land him to shore up a place of want.
Final season with the Eagles, Slay performed in 698 snaps within the common season, grading out at a 67.6 total from Professional Soccer Focus. That included a grade of 68.9 in protection, the place he allowed 32 receptions on 64 targets for 371 yards and two touchdowns, recording 12 cross breakups on the 12 months.
Although he was in a secondary that featured standout rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, Slay was a gentle participant and upped his recreation within the postseason, bettering his grade to 77.1 within the postseason in 248 snaps. Within the postseason, Slay allowed simply 13 receptions on 23 targets for 182 yards and two touchdowns, recording an interception within the Wild Card spherical whereas additionally breaking apart 4 passes.
In his profession, Slay has performed 10,220 snaps and has allowed 550 receptions on 926 targets for six,781 yards and 41 touchdowns, including 28 interceptions and 100 cross breakups.
He’s lengthy within the tooth, however he nonetheless is aware of easy methods to play the place at a sound degree. Having that kind of veteran management and expertise reverse Joey Porter Jr. ought to assist the Steelers’ cornerback room proceed to develop.
In fact, the Steelers tried in 2023 with Patrick Peterson, solely to see it backfire. Hopefully Slay is a greater roll of the cube for Pittsburgh as he reunites with defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, who was his defensive coordinator in Detroit.
From a reputation perspective, Slay is an effective add. He confirmed in 2024 with the Eagles in remoted conditions that he can nonetheless play. However Father Time stays undefeated, and it’s a threat for the Steelers from an age and monetary perspective. We’ll see if it really works out.
