The Steelers have made key investments to bolster their defense this offseason, but one analyst still has a particular concern. Specifically, it centers on the safeties and how the team will deploy them—and whether it will work. DeShon Elliott is returning from a season-ending injury a year ago. Pittsburgh also added former second-round pick Jaquan Brisker as an unrestricted free agent.
In terms of age and experience, both Elliott and Brisker are in or near the prime of their careers. Elliott recently turned 29, and he has played fewer than 5,000 snaps with 90 starts. Brisker is only in his fifth season and coming off his first healthy year. On paper, this could be the Steelers’ best safety pairing since prime Minkah Fitzpatrick. But can this tandem do what Pittsburgh needs it to do?
“That would be my one concern”, said Cody Alexander of Match Quarters, who breaks down defenses, on the Yinziders podcast. More specifically, it’s his one concern about what the Steelers have done on defense thus far.
“What are we doing at safety? Because Brisker, to me, was really interesting”, he said. “Now, I think DeShon Elliott has a little higher ceiling, so I think he can maybe be that hash safety, and I think this is also a sign of, ‘We’re gonna do things from a two-high shell.’ Because when you do that, you need that flexibility of, ‘Hey, we can play from a deep position’.
“At the end of the day, that’s a huge mental load on both of those guys because they have to know how they’re adjusting in every single play. How they’re adjusting to motion, how they’re adjusting to formations”.
One of the things the Steelers have emphasized, both on offense and on defense, is versatility. While Jalen Ramsey is one piece, they also seem to view Jaquan Brisker in that category, too. And Ramsey, of course, will be in the mix at safety in “base” packages, as well. What remains to be seen is who comes off the field for him.
“I think what you’re gonna probably see is DeShon Elliott be a little more back and you’re gonna let Brisker [near the box]”, Alexander said. But he worries that the Steelers have safeties who are too similar. “When you look at it, you’re very down-safety heavy, which is a concern”.
While he didn’t state it outright, it seems more like looking for a problem on an otherwise strong Steelers defense. If their biggest problem is that Elliott and Brisker may not be as complementary as hoped, they should be fine. And with Ramsey in the mix, as he also discussed, they have a variety of options to change things up.