In years past, Brian Allen might have been a candidate to fight for a starting spot with the Steelers, back when his only competition might've been Brandon Boykin, Antwon Blake or Cortez Allen.
But Allen now looks up from the bottom of the depth chart at Joe Haden, Steven Nelson, Mike Hilton, Cameron Sutton, and even rookie Justin Layne. Outside of Artie Burns, Allen will have to do a lot to prove he deserves more playing time over those guys.
And the fact remains that in two years with the team, Allen has never played a defensive snap in regulation, despite being a fifth-round draft pick in 2017. So how can Allen show something that finally gets him on the field when it counts? Let's take a look ...
I've written on Allen before each of the past two seasons. Once for his rookie year and why he had the tallest task of his class, and again last year examining the prospect of him making a charge up the depth chart. As a converted receiver from his college days in Utah, Allen had to work on his mechanics and combine them with his ball skills to become the cornerback the Steelers envisioned when they selected him.
Allen is at his best when he can use his speed and his frame. At 6-foot-3, he has the long arms to go up with taller receivers and the stride to run down the sidelines. One thing that I've seen improve is his footwork and change of direction in coverage. Watch how he's able to switch from his backpedal into playing the ball to swat it away:
That's something I've seen Allen do from time to time in preseason games. But there's a reason he still hasn't seen the field, even when the team has needed a reserve cornerback outside the numbers. It's come down to how he's performed in tight spots.
Allen hasn't had much of a chance to perform in pressure situations when he's had to combine a focus on communication, technique and playing the ball. He hasn't been beaten a ton, but in preseason there definitely have been moments when he could've shown more polish.
Here he is putting himself in position to stop a jump ball, but he relied on his hands too much and drew a flag for pass interference:
Allen has the athleticism and has flashed the ability to play the ball. But the question of whether he can put it all together still remains. I can see a lot of training camp matchups between Allen and the newcomers at receiver, like Diontae Johnson. Keep an eye out for him when they do their one-on-one drills.
Once Allen gets his chance in practice and in preseason, he needs to show some sign of an upgrade in his game — by way of interceptions or impressive pass breakups — if he hopes to make the team and see the field in 2019.
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