Who fills in for the Steelers at slot cornerback has been an important question that's still unanswered almost two months after Mike Hilton signed with the Bengals in free agency.
So far, Kevin Colbert has only made a small signing of Arthur Maulet, a seventh round pick in Tre Norwood and an undrafted slot cornerback option in Shakur Brown as replacement options.
That shouldn't alarm anyone as the Steelers very rarely make splash free agent signings and Hilton himself was an undrafted free agent.
But Hilton was unique in how he played in the slot. His aggressive demeanor to stuff the run and rush the quarterback made him a valuable presence in the box despite being undersized compared to linebackers and safeties at his 5-foot-9, 184 lbs. size.
However, the Steelers don't necessarily need another slot cornerback to fill that exact role. Hilton's instincts to blitz and stop the run were extremely useful during the last four years because of the Steelers' personnel issues.
Hilton was a quick defender who could run, stop and change directions in coverage while helping against the run. He wasn't proficient in man-to-man coverage, but his other skills more than made up for that. The Steelers' drafting of Devin Bush helped solve that, until his season ending injury in 2020 needed Hilton to keep playing that role.
But with Buddy Johnson and Bush, the Steelers do have faster linebackers who can run around the box to stuff the run in ways that free up their slot cornerback to focus primarily on coverage.
Enter players like Norwood, who led the Big 12 with five interceptions, including this pick six on Kyle Trask in the Cotton Bowl:
Norwood may not be the replacement, but someone who's better at reacting in coverage and making plays on the ball could be the answer, and they wouldn't need to do all the things against the run Hilton did for years.
YOUR TURN: Should the Steelers work for a slot cornerback who plays closer to Hilton's role?
