The story of Senquez Golson’s career – at least in Black and Gold – may always be that of a ‘consolation prize’. Not for missing out on a fellow corner, but to the long term replacement to tight end Heath Miller.
That’s right, everything pointed in the direction that the Pittsburgh Steelers were planning to take Minnesota tight end Maxx Williams at some point in the second round – even exploring trading up to secure the right to draft him.
And in a way only the Baltimore Ravens could do – the Steelers most hated rival moved – they traded up to one spot ahead of Pittsburgh – to fly in and scoop up the apparent prized Pittsburgh prospect.
Did I mention that the team Baltimore traded with was the Arizona Cardinals – who is coach by Bruce Arians, the former offensive coordinator who was also ‘pushed’ towards ‘retirement’ by the Steelers before eventually landing with the Cardinals (a stop with the Indianapolis Colts in between).
So instead the Steelers were forced to go back to the drawing board, and went with the former Ole Miss corner Golson.
Senquez Golson: Ball Skills, Not Size, What Steelers Need
If you were wondering how a cornerback with the ball skills Golson has (ten interceptions this past season) was able to drop to the last part of the second round it is simple. Golson stands at 5’8 ¾”, a far cry at what you would originally think of when picturing a starting cornerback in the NFL.
While that mindset would have likely worked five to ten years ago, in today’s NFL where the passing game is so prevalent – defenses have been forced to adapt to the times.
For the Steelers that means running the majority of their defense out of the ‘sub’ package, which puts an extra member of the secondary on the field in place of a defensive lineman. The past few seasons has seen Pittsburgh use this package more and more, with the selection of Ryan Shazier last year a prime example of them gearing towards using it.
Maybe his future is on the inside as a slot corner, that again isn’t the same testament on the players skill set in a sense that it was years ago and with the Steelers playing in the ‘sub’ package the majority of the time, Golson would see plenty of playing time – more than enough to make an impact.
All though Golson has some of the best intangible skills in the draft, as Mike Mayock of the NFL Network believes he is ‘one of the best pure zone corners’ he has seen, it will always come back to his size.
Year after year, players drop in the draft due to being ‘too slow’, or like in Golson’s case not ‘big enough’ to play in the NFL but each season we see most prove to be the definition of ‘gamers’. Turn the game film on, forget about the little things, and let the kid play.
He made plays against some of the best in the nation; in the best conference college football has to offer. He routinely went up against receivers that weren’t only taller than him, but also took their games to Sundays as well.
In the end, what the Steelers have truly lacked in recent years has been a player to step up and make big plays for the defense – especially in the secondary.
How many games could have been turned back in the Steelers favor if a defensive back was able to make that one breakup, or interception?
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