Last week I wrote about the versatility in the Steelers' secondary and how Keith Butler can build off that in his coverage schemes for 2019. This week I want to focus specifically on the safety position and the quick flip Kevin Colbert executed to turn them from a weak spot on the roster into a group to be excited about:
Think back to just two seasons ago when the Steelers' safeties were second-year Sean Davis, declining Mike Mitchell, J.J. Wilcox, Robert Golden, and William Gay in his final season. Only Davis remains.
Terrell Edmunds looks like he could be the answer at the position and is joined by Davis, Kameron Kelly coming out of the AAF, Jordan Dangerfield and Marcus Allen.
What's impressive about this group is that after scheming to protect them from being taken advantage of in recent years, Butler is now making them a prominent part of how the Steelers cover the field. Several plays with the first team defense this preseason have featured three safety formations that include Davis, Edmunds and Kelly.
What makes that dangerous for offenses is that each of them can rotate from playing deep safety to jumping into the box to cover short passes and provide run support.
Edmunds showed off his burst in Sunday's 18-6 win against the Titans. Marcus Mariota called a play-action pass that sucked up the Steelers' linebackers, Vince Williams and Mark Barron, to open up the middle of the field for a slant to A.J. Brown. Brown did beat Steven Nelson, but Edmunds quickly accelerated to the ball and broke up the pass:
That play kept the Titans pinned inside their 5, leading to a safety on the next play on a sack by Stephon Tuitt. Butler has to be excited with the skill set each of these three guys brings combined with their size and ability to move in space. Davis and Edmunds are each 6-foot-1 and Kelly is 6-foot-2, making them prime candidates to run with tight ends and taller receivers, as well as hit with bigger players on the field.
Having safeties like that allows for more disguised coverages. Watch how this play below started with the Steelers showing Cover 2 with Edmunds and Kelly lining up as the two deep safeties and Davis moving down into the box. As the Titans set up their play, Kelly bumps down to cover the slot, with Edmunds playing center field. This was a switch to Cover 1 to fool the Titans.
The Titans thought they could catch the Steelers playing passive defense with a draw to Dion Lewis. But the Steelers are all over it with Bud Dupree keeping his edge so that Kelly can shoot into the hole and take Lewis down. Also watch closely how Davis takes on starting left guard Roger Saffold. Davis completely destroys him by launching the 323-pound 10-year veteran into the backfield, hitting Lewis:
This is much different than the Chris Hope, Ryan Clark and Mike Mitchell style of big hitting that used to be a staple at free safety for the Steelers. These new players are moving around the field with purpose inside of Butler's scheme and delivering big hits, while also making more fundamental tackles and avoiding penalties.
Watch how Edmunds does just that on a big combined hit with Devin Bush on tight end Anthony Firkser over the middle. Both players get their pad level lower than Firkser's, lead with their shoulders and finish the tackle with a good wrap. No chance for Firkser to escape and no chance for direct contact to the head:
Bush and Edmunds are a dangerous duo down the middle of the field who I predict will become a major force in the NFL for the next several years.
Even the reserve safeties are getting into the act. Allen is a second-year player who might not make the roster because of the depth across the board, but even he's shown up with a couple of plays in preseason. Watch how he gets called up for man coverage on running back Alex Barnes to stop a flat route on third-and-1. Allen moves quickly to make the tackle and force the punt:
The secondary still needs to produce more interceptions this season. But there is a combined benefit of Butler's confidence to move them across the field to win various assignments and the safeties' ability to match up against players of all sizes. They're not just big, they're bullying players with their athleticism. A group that teams were happy to take advantage in recent years is now the group that offenses may fear to challenge.
Thanks to that, there'll be fewer mismatches that can be schemed by offenses in key moments for easy completions. And when offenses can't find the mismatches, they'll make riskier throws into more favorable situations for the Steelers.
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MORE CLASSROOM
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August 21: Rudolph’s accuracy leading QB race
