The Pittsburgh Steelers moved into first place in the AFC North by dispatching the Indianapolis Colts 28-7. The “Killer B’s” showed up in full force on Thanksgiving and didn’t stop eating. Le’Veon Bell totaled 144 total yards and a touchdown, while Ben Roethlisberger threw three touchdowns to Antonio Brown. However, it wasn’t the offense that caught the eye on Thursday night. It was the youth movement of the Steelers defense. For the first time since 1974, the Pittsburgh Steelers started three rookies on defense.
Steelers Defensive Youth Movement
Signs of change can be subtle. Other times they are loud and clear.
The Steelers front office clearly showed they were ready to improve their much-maligned defense when they selected defensive players in the first three rounds of the 2016 NFL Draft. All players were expected to contribute and to contribute early.
Cornerback Artie Burns (25th overall), safety Sean Davis (58th overall) and defensive lineman Javon Hargrave (89th overall) all saw significant snaps against the Colts, and all rookies arguably played their best games of the year.
Safety Sean Davis
Seen as a bit of a hybrid safety/cornerback, Davis was lauded as an excellent value pick by draft prognosticators. The second round product out of Maryland, Sean Davis saw 100% (63-63) of defensive snaps and was all over the field. Davis played safety as well as a nickel cornerback. Depth in the secondary was sorely needed, and he slotted into the lineup beautifully.
Davis collected five tackles including a massive third down stop on Colts quarterback Scott Tolzien. The safety was flying all over the field and was routinely around the ball. Now that doesn’t mean mistakes weren’t made – because they were. Those small mistakes are totally fine for a rookie as long as they are made aggressively.
Cornerback Artie Burns
With mixed reviews on his draft projection (some as low as the third round), Artie Burns was seen by some as a reach for 25th overall in the first round. Burns was described as athletically gifted as any corner in the draft, but a bit of a project due to his deficiencies in zone coverage.
The first round pick saw a season-high 95% of defensive snaps (60-63) and continued to improve his play from week to week. It was nice to see defensive coordinator Keith Butler utilize Burns’ strength of covering man to man instead of playing him in off coverage.
Artie Burns is clearly the most athletic defender in the secondary when covering man to man. He has loose hips and long arms which give him an uncanny ability to stick with receivers and as close the gap to breakup contested passes.
Defensive Lineman Javon Hargrave
Hailing from small school South Carolina State, Javon Hargrave’s ability was never doubted during the draft process. It was his competition. The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t seem to mind when they selected him 89th overall in the third round.
Hargrave flat out dominated on film and was without a doubt the best player every time he stepped onto the field in college. The pick was seen as an excellent addition to depth on the defensive line for the Steelers.
Hargrave has accumulated five tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and a defensive touchdown over the past two games. Hargrave is also getting a chance to rush the passer.
With 37 sacks in college, Hargrave has excellent pass rushing moves (as evidenced by this clip of him swimming through a double team to sack quarterback Scott Tolzien).
All three rookies will need to continue to develop and build upon each successful game. No doubt there will be some rookie mistakes made in the coming weeks – but those same mistakes will turn all three players into futures stars in Pittsburgh.
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