Louis Riddick’s Secondary Concerns; with a Silver Lining

[Steeler Nation]

Earlier this week, University of Pittsburgh alumni and ESPN analyst, Louis Riddick sat down with the SteelerNation Podcast to discuss everything about Pittsburgh Steelers football. In the conversation, Riddick touched on topics ranging from rookie Najee Harris, to new offensive line expectations, to new additions to the Steelers’ roster, and everything in between. Included in these, Riddick was asked about the current state of the Steelers’ secondary and if they can compete with their current depth chart.

“When you have guys who may be too old, that you have some questions about, especially when you’re talking about pure man-to-man coverage, at some point in time everyone has to play…” Riddick explained. “On third-and-medium, you can’t just sit back and play Pittsburgh Steelers zone, play it soft and expect to get off the field… there I have some concerns”, he goes onto say.

Steelers fans are all too familiar of the Steelers’ secondary strategy being “bend but don’t break”. Man coverage has never been a strength in Pittsburgh. When Joe Haden joined Pittsburgh in 2017, he was that “lock down” corner the Steelers needed. I am not saying Haden is no longer that same corner, but we can all agree he is close to the end of his successful career and we are anxiously awaiting the next man up. Haden can still shut down the entire half of the field on defense, but the opposite side of Haden is where fans, and Riddick, are concerned going into the season. Riddick explained:

“…when it is a quick-strike passing team, the pass rush doesn’t have enough time to get there, and these guys have to hold up in man coverage. That is why I have some concerns.”

Although this may sound pessimistic, there is a silver lining. The Steelers have always been known for having a great defense; not necessarily a great secondary, but a great team defense.

“They have a good way of playing great team defense overall, where they’re so resourceful as far as disguising, as far as pass rush is concerned, being great ballhawks; very opportunistic as far as jumping the quarterback and getting a good read on the throw…”, Riddick explained. “They are able to make up for some of the limitations they have as far as having a ‘top-flight Jalen Ramsey-like’ corner.”

Therefore, the Steelers don’t need to break the bank on a top tier cornerback (i.e. Xavien Howard) in order to execute at a high level and win games.



After listening to Riddick and looking at the initial depth chart going into camp, the secondary seems to be similar to the offensive line — very much in flux. We obviously know what we have in Haden and Minkah Fitzpatrick. Terrell Edmunds is in need of a monster year to earn another contract. Cam Sutton is moving from the slot corner position to outside corner opposite of Haden and we don’t know what to expect from him early on. The starting slot corner role is still open, but second-year man Antoine Brooks Jr. looks to be the current favorite to earn that. With many more names going into camp who are fighting for roster spots, there is going to be a lot of plug-and-play in the secondary and rotating players in and out to see what works best; very much like the offensive line. Of course we’re going to see this in the preseason, but don’t be surprised if this bleeds into the regular season. There may be some diamonds in the rough who will rise to the occasion to ease Riddick’s secondary concerns.



How do you think the secondary will fair this season? Let us know in the comments below!

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