When Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin spoke to the media this week, he talked about the Steelers safety situation and the options Pittsburgh has including newly-acquired cornerback Patrick Peterson. Here are our takeaways from those comments.
Peterson to safety means cornerback a top need
If the Steelers decide moving Peterson to safety is the best choice for the Pittsburgh defense, the Steelers will have to draft a cornerback. And they will have to do it fairly early. Does that mean No. 17 early? Probably not but with this cornerback class, a second-round pick isn’t at all out of the question.
Free-agent safeties aren't great right now
The best free-agent safety on the market right now is former Cleveland Browns safety John Johnson. If the Steelers did sign him, it would offer Pittsburgh’s defense a ton of versatility. But beyond Johnson, there isn’t much to get excited about.
A safety in the draft might fix all the problems.
The most reasonable and safety option the Steelers might have is to draft a safety instead of a cornerback who can be the team’s third safety and leave Peterson at cornerback. Peterson, Levi Wallace and Arthur Maulet are a solid trio but splitting them up would spread the cornerback depth thin and force the Steelers to invest into the position. There are some great safeties in this draft for the second and third rounds who have the types of skill sets the Steelers cover in a third safety.
