Halicke: Elliott, Jackson additions embody under-the-radar value

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Many of the headlines from the Steelers' offseason have focused on the quarterback overhaul, and perhaps even signing Patrick Queen, the top inside linebacker on the free-agent market.

But, as Omar Khan emphasized this week at the NFL annual meeting, the Steelers' focus remains on two very important things, which have been especially evident on the defensive side of the ball to this point of the offseason.

"You guys have always heard me say the importance of competition and depth at every position. And that process continues," Khan said. "And I think you know, we're very specific about the guys we bring in, guys that can compete and make us better through the process of getting to the first game."

The defense has been the primary side of the ball that's been addressed thus far. There's no question the largest impact on the defense was signing Queen. And in last week's Chalk Talk, we took an in-depth look at what he brings to this defense.

"I'm excited about having Pat. Pat's a unique guy in that he has both youth and experience," Mike Tomlin said this week. "This guy's been in the league for years, hadn't missed a game. And he's 24 and a half years old. And so, obviously, we're extremely familiar with him and his skill set and talent level. Excited about it, he's an all-situations guy. He's good versus run. He's good in coverage, he's a good blitzer. We're just really excited about having a guy of his caliber that brings that unique combination of youth and experience."

But, the other moves that have been made could collectively make a similar impact. Last year, we saw this defense decimated by injuries. The inside linebacker position was down to Elandon Roberts and Myles Jack by season's end. Minkah Fitzpatrick played through injuries down the stretch. Cam Heyward missed half the season, and in the games he did play, he was nowhere close to 100%. 

To this point of the spring, the Steelers have added or re-signed the following defensive players, outside of Queen: S DeShon Elliott (free agency), CB Donte Jackson (trade), NT Breiden Fehoko (re-sign), DT Montravius Adams (re-sign), DT Dean Lowry (free agency)

The Steelers need immense depth at each position when the team heads to Saint Vincent College for training camp in July. And, even with adding three defensive linemen to the mix, it still seems like a position that could use more, whether it be in quantity and/or quality. And based on what's been said this week, I'd expect more to be added up front.

"We're trying to be the very best team that we can be. And so, we're going to utilize all the avenues to do that. Certainly," Tomlin said. "I don't know that there's been an offseason where I haven't been shopping at the defensive line."

But, a couple additions that really help lengthen out the roster and create flexibility for the draft are the signing of Elliott and the trade for Jackson, two players that will combine for only $8.25 million of this year's salary cap.

Starting with Elliott, it's not yet known how the Steelers plan to use him in their defense. But, they're getting a guy that improves multiple areas of the defense.

"I think (his role is) to be determined but obviously I'm really excited that he's here," Tomlin said of Elliott. "He's a really good tackler. He's a really good communicator. He has some natural traits that I think really make you excited about adding to your defense from a safety perspective. He's not a newbie by any stretch. He's been in the league. We're familiar with him. He's familiar with us and I just think that makes me really excited."

In watching a few games of Elliott's tape with the Dolphins last season, there are some consistent traits that fans may remember from his days with the Ravens. One thing that I noticed is his ability to make plays to the second level. He still lined up in the free safety position on 574 of 926 total snaps, but also lined up in the box 236 times, as well. 

Elliott's an instinctive player in both run and pass defense, and possesses exceptional closing speed. The two plays above really displays what he's capable of while playing from a more traditional safety position. Elliott is a much better run defender than he is in coverage, having the ability to read, react and make tackles in space. And, he only missed 8.7% of his tackles last season, according to Pro Football Focus, and is coming off his two best seasons in that regard.

While he's more inconsistent in coverage, he can react quickly and close in fast on plays in front of him. And, he still had six pass breakups last season, which is half of his career total. He's not a liability back there.

One thing about Elliott that fans should love is his heart and overall physicality through the end of each play. That might not be more personified than in this play where he kept Tony Pollard out of the end zone:

Overall, it appears Elliott is really solid at just about everything, but not overly great at anything. Still, that type of consistency next to Fitzpatrick at safety would free up the Steelers' star, allowing Minkah to be Minkah. 

With Jackson, the initial response to trading away Diontae Johnson to get him was a bit underwhelming. And after reviewing some of the film, I believe Johnson is a better player than Jackson. But, the Steelers got Jackson to take a pay cut and will now count only $6 million against the cap. For that price, this could work for the Steelers.

First off, Joey Porter Jr. is the No. 1 cornerback. No, Tomlin hasn't declared that. But Porter fits the profile of a No. 1 guy based on the trust he earned last season. Tomlin seldom gives any cornerback the privilege of following around the opponent's top receiver, but Porter earned that right as a rookie.

On the flip side, Jackson doesn't fit that profile. Jackson lines up off the ball far more often than he does in press coverage. That could be a result of the Panthers' defensive scheme, but it does coincide with Jackson's strengths.

Jackson has superb footwork with his ability to change direction and react to receivers' routes, especially on the ones in front of him. Even when receivers try to beat him deep, he's great at throwing his hips around and using his speed to stay with receivers.

Jackson came into the league with a 4.32 40-yard dash, which is elite speed. He's not quite as fast as he was then, and dealt with an Achilles injury in 2022. But, even as recent as last season, Jackson still showed the ability to run with a lot of receivers. And, he's very good at using the sideline to his advantage. Jackson's a smart football player, which is why he can play off the ball as often as he does.

Two areas of Jackson's game that are cause for concern are his limitations in press coverage and his tendency to be far too much of a gambler.

At 5-10 and 178 pounds, Jackson is a smaller cornerback. His arms are only 29 1/2 inches, so he doesn't possess great length, either. While Jackson can be physical at times, he relies much more on technique to stay with receivers over disrupting receivers at the line of scrimmage. Jackson's not incapable of doing such things, but is far too inconsistent at it.

Take this rep against Tyreek Hill, for example:

Now, there's perhaps not a receiver in football that is more dangerous in terms of a deadly combination of speed and pass-catching ability. Jackson's lined up in press coverage here, but doesn't do anything to knock Hill off his route or throw off the timing (yes, that's still important on a go route). He's far too reactionary against a receiver of Hill's caliber, and he gets beat deep because of it. Jackson's got great speed, but not good enough to try and match a receiver such as Hill step for step. There are other ways to beat receivers than just with speed.

Jackson also tends to take far too many chances to make a play. That makes him susceptible to double moves, a play with which offenses attacked him throughout last season. As fast as Jackson is, no amount of speed can make up for lost ground when beaten on a double move. And that can lead to far too many chunk plays given up.

Even with these couple of concerns, Jackson is still an upgrade over what the Steelers had in Levi Wallace and Patrick Peterson on the outside last season. Jackson's faster than both Wallace and Peterson, which adds much needed speed to the back end of the defense. Jackson isn't the best tackler (he missed 14.1% of his tackle attempts last season, according to PFF), but the film says there's no doubt he's a willing tackler. He plays better contain on the outside than Wallace did last season, and understands the basic concept of maintaining outside leverage on ball carriers, that way if he does miss a tackle, he's forcing the runner back to his help inside.

The Steelers are also getting a player that they know relatively well. This is why the homework that Tomlin and the front office do during the draft process can reap benefits beyond that particular year.

"(Jackson) is a guy that we evaluated probably several times since he's been in the league when he came out of LSU, when he faced free agency," Tomlin said. "We needed some assistance in depth and quality players at that position. And so, we made the move."

There are still some holes to fill on defense. We've mentioned the defensive line, and the Steelers still need to find a slot cornerback to play inside while Porter and Jackson handle the outside. A reunion with Peterson isn't out of the question, as Tomlin said this week the door is still open for a reunion.

Either way, it's a position the Steelers know they need to fill and not with just the next man up on the roster. And, when I asked Tomlin this week how he feels about Porter and Jackson as his two starting cornerbacks, he only provided two succinct words: "Very confident." So, any additions from here on out would most likely be on the inside, not the outside.

"You know, we got some candidates, but obviously we're probably still looking," Tomlin said. "I think that's the position that we're all looking for and looking at annually because some of the demands that come in that position in the NFL are somewhat different than in college. In college, oftentimes that guy is a safety like guy. The coverage is so significant in the NFL, that most of the time that guy is a corner like guy. So, I think we're all kind of scouring that position annually and seeing what's available in terms of ready made talent and so forth."

The additions of Queen and Elliott really helped bolster the middle of the Steelers' defense. Queen can do so much sideline to sideline and even north and south in both run and pass defense. As we studied here, Elliott is a fine player that doesn't have any glaring weaknesses. That's a great complement on the back end next to Fitzpatrick. And while Jackson isn't the most exciting addition, he's an improvement on what they've had the past two seasons, and he won't be asked to be the No. 1 guy in Pittsburgh.

This defense has its stars. T.J. Watt is the best defensive player on the planet. Fitzpatrick is a world-class safety. Queen is a superb, do-it-all linebacker. They have the elite players, at least one on each level of the defense. 

But, there's no way to understate how important it is to have quality role players. Alex Highsmith is a high-quality edge defender opposite of Watt, and Nick Herbig could be a sneaky-good third player behind those two. Consider that Heyward could still be a good player if he's healthy. Keeanu Benton could be a breakout candidate in his second year. Roberts' game meshes well with Queen's, and Cole Holcomb's potential return from a major leg injury could really deepen inside linebacker. Adding Elliott and Jackson sets the four primary starters in the secondary, and having Damontae Kazee gives the Steelers the option to trot out their three-safety look every now and then.

This defense is looking a lot better than it did a year ago, and even that group still finished in a tie as the sixth-best scoring unit in the league. With still some time to make further additions via free agency, trade and through the draft, Khan is off to a great start in making this a more well-rounded defense.