The list of cornerbacks in the NFL who had better seasons than Steven Nelson in 2019 was a short one.
Despite that, Nelson wasn't among those voted to the Pro Bowl last season, his first with the Steelers.
The problem?
While some other corners had more interceptions, Nelson had just one.
So, despite the fact he allowed just 37 completions on 74 pass attempts in his coverage last season, a 50 percent completion rate that ranked ninth in the league among players targeted at least 50 times, Nelson didn't make it. That completion percentage was the same as the Bills' Tre'Davious White and better than NFL Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore (50.5) of the Patriots.
Nelson, who had four interceptions in 2018 in his final season with the Chiefs, knows he can be that kind of cornerback, as well. Trouble is, he can't throw the ball at himself.
Nelson's 74 targets in 15 games last season -- just under five per game -- weren't going to give him much of an opportunity to get a lot of interceptions. It was certainly different than in 2018 when his 115 targets were the fourth-most in the league -- even though he allowed a completion rate of 51.3.
"I do think that was a major part of why I wasn’t selected to the Pro Bowl even though the numbers were similar," Nelson said. "The interceptions, the big plays, I was lacking in that area. It’s hard to go out there and say I’m going to get some interceptions. You have to get the targets. I have had conversations with my inner circle. Maybe I have to do some talking this year to get guys to throw at me. Whatever it takes. I feel like this year I’ll get more than one interception. It should be a better year for me in that area."
Thing is, Nelson came to the Steelers on a three-year, $25.5-million contract last year, the richest ever handed out by the team to an outside free agent, with a reputation as a talker. That never manifested itself in his first season with the Steelers.
In fact, his teammates lauded Nelson for his professionalism both on and off the field as he and Joe Haden formed one of the league's best cornerback duos.
The Steelers were 10th in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game in 2018, giving up 231.1 yards per game. But they had just eight interceptions and 15 total turnovers. Last season, the Steelers allowed 194.6 passing yards per game -- third in the NFL -- and had 20 interceptions.
Nelson was a factor in that, as were the additions of inside linebackers Devin Bush and Mark Barron and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Barron was released in a salary cap-related move in the offseason, but Nelson, Bush and Fitzpatrick now all have a year under their belts in the defensive scheme. It should only be better in 2020.
"I believe so," Nelson said. "It’s kind of like college. You’re there with guys for four years and you build that brotherhood. Each year, things get a little better because you’re playing with your brothers and you trust each other. I think that has a lot to do with it. We were all kind of new last year but we were able to have a tremendous amount of turnovers. That’s very rare to do. I think this year we’ll take that next step because we’ve all played around each other and have that experience."
"There are a lot of other teams that half their roster, half their secondary or half of their linebacker corps is gone," Fitzpatrick said last week. "We’re lucky enough to not have that. I think that’s definitely an advantage for us. Most of us have at least a year under our belt and some guys have more."
"I think we’re arguably in that top category, whatever that may be," Nelson said when asked to rank the Steelers among their peers.
"We’re stacked from top to bottom. Even non-starters are very talented. We have great coaches. We definitely have a group to take us all the way. I think that speaks volumes. If we can kind of duplicate or get better than last year, especially with Ben coming back, I think we all know that will change a lot. We’ll have to see what happens."
"I don’t think it’s going to have a major effect on is because coach (Mike) Tomlin runs a pretty tight ship," Nelson said. "It’s all about getting us prepared. We’re all professionals. We can handle it. We’re taking this very well when it comes to being able to do OTAs and things like that. We’ve been able to handle it very well. That’s just another bump in the road. Whatever we have to do, the adjustments, we’ll have to take care of and we’ll be successful either way."
