Mike Tomlin: Steelers could have three rookie starters on defense

[polamalubeast]

When Hall of Famer Dick LeBeau was running the Pittsburgh Steelers' defense, it was exceedingly rare for a rookie to earn a starting job.

That's no longer the case under Keith Butler, who altered the defense with more zone looks after taking over for LeBeau in 2015.


There's a chance for first-round cornerback Artie Burns, second-round safety Sean Davis and third-round nose tackle Javon Hargrave to play major roles on a defense that ranked 21st in yards allowed and 30th against the pass last year.

"I believe it's realistic," coach Mike Tomlin said, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "That's why we chose them where we chose them. But they have to earn it, and we'll give them the opportunity to do that."

That's not even including 2014 second-round cornerback Senquez Golson, who missed his entire rookie season to shoulder surgery.


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http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000659278/article/mike-tomlin-steelers-could-have-three-rookie-starters?campaign=Twitter_atn

[Psycho Ward 86]

i dont see Artie pulling it off. But the other 2 im hopeful are able to do it

[fansince'76]

Well, whether they are able to crack the starting lineup or not, I'm appreciative of the change in mindset from the "this defense is so complicated that nobody can possibly start on it until at least their 3rd year" paradigm where the possibility of any of them starting would have been dismissed out of hand.

[polamalubeast]

726857588692934657

[st33lersguy]

An immediate impact would be nice, and I'm sure the top 3 players will at least see some snaps in certain areas

[tube517]

Probably not starting but maybe more playing time in a rotation like last year. They rotated 4 CBs by the end of last year. Take away Boykiin and Blake and add in Sen and Art.

Javon should see time spelling Heyward and Tuitt.

As FS76 said, the rookie sits for a year mentality seems to be gone.

[GBMelBlount]

Probably not starting but maybe more playing time in a rotation like last year. They rotated 4 CBs by the end of last year. Take away Boykiin and Blake and add in Sen and Art.

Javon should see time spelling Heyward and Tuitt.

As FS76 said, the rookie sits for a year mentality seems to be gone.

Especially when your starters are sub par...:flap:

[Count Steeler]

And we still have Golson coming back from injury. Four fresh faces to hopefully get the team defense headed back in the right direction.

[86WARD]

I highly doubt any of them start.

[Edman]

Well, whether they are able to crack the starting lineup or not, I'm appreciative of the change in mindset from the "this defense is so complicated that nobody can possibly start on it until at least their 3rd year" paradigm where the possibility of any of them starting would have been dismissed out of hand.

Only for a nobody quarterback to come out of nowhere and tear the Defense a new one. For such a "complicated" defense, Opposing QB's and Offenses had no problem figuring it out.

Run some hook routes to exploit the ten yard cushions, throw where Troy wasn't and you're good.

[fansince'76]

I highly doubt any of them start.

I dunno. It's been a common complaint, particularly over the last couple of years, that our defensive rookies are forced to sit through the majority of their first contract while other teams seem to start their defensive rookies (or at the very least give them significant playing time), and in many cases, they make positive contributions right away. Maybe (hopefully) this is the year that all changes.

I'll be very disappointed if Hargrave doesn't get a significant number of snaps, at least. We have NOTHING behind Tuitt and Heyward and it would be a real bad idea to run them into the ground again like we were forced to last year.

[fansince'76]

Only for a nobody quarterback to come out of nowhere and tear the Defense a new one. For such a "complicated" defense, Opposing QB's and Offenses had no problem figuring it out.

Run some hook routes to exploit the ten yard cushions, throw where Troy wasn't and you're good.

Watching Johnny Rehab torch them for almost 400 yards last year was a particularly low point...

[steelreserve]

The "defense is too complicated" bullshit was just the biggest smokescreen of all time for the fact that they could not draft defense to save their lives for close to a decade.

Except for the one year they got Woodley, Timmons and Gay all at once, we literally wound up with ZERO defensive players who did us any good between drafting Ike Taylor and Cam Heyward. Yikes.

You're about to open a new tab right now and start typing "Steelers Draft History" into Google, but unless you want to argue over whether Bryant McFadden was a great second-round return on investment, you're just wasting your time.

[hawaiiansteeler]

I highly doubt any of them start.

I agree with you, when the Steelers come out on opening day for their first defensive series I don't believe any of the three will be in the starting lineup.

[Steelman]

Hargrave will see the most snaps starting out of this class this season. Between Burns and Davis, I think Davis has the better chance of starting at some point in the season.

[pczach]

I agree with you, when the Steelers come out on opening day for their first defensive series I don't believe any of the three will be in the starting lineup.


And that's OK. Then we'll find out if the talent they drafted in the last couple years are turning into real players. McCullers has all but been named the starter, while Golson and Grant will be part of the secondary. This stuff takes time when you are turning over a roster. The entire defense has been revamped over the past couple years. They have done a good job overall adding young talent on defense. Tuitt, Shazier, McCullers, Williams, Dupree, Cockrell, and Mitchell are players......and Golson, Grant, and this year's crop are the pieces we all hope are the answers to they need.

We'll start seeing soon, but don't expect the '76 Steelers right out of the gate. They will still need the offense to put up points while they learn and gel on defense.

They were a MASH unit last year and they outplayed the Super Bowl champs with half the team out injured. I think the glass is half full.

[zulater]

Well, whether they are able to crack the starting lineup or not, I'm appreciative of the change in mindset from the "this defense is so complicated that nobody can possibly start on it until at least their 3rd year" paradigm where the possibility of any of them starting would have been dismissed out of hand.

Good point. Regardless, I don't see all 3 starting, but if they're all part of their positional rotation then that would be a solid step up for the defense.

[zulater]

The "defense is too complicated" bullshit was just the biggest smokescreen of all time for the fact that they could not draft defense to save their lives for close to a decade.

Except for the one year they got Woodley, Timmons and Gay all at once, we literally wound up with ZERO defensive players who did us any good between drafting Ike Taylor and Cam Heyward. Yikes.

You're about to open a new tab right now and start typing "Steelers Draft History" into Google, but unless you want to argue over whether Bryant McFadden was a great second-round return on investment, you're just wasting your time.

Neither Cam Heyward or Stephan Tuitt were given much playing time as rookies, and yet they've both are or have the look of top tier players at their position. So there was no smokescreen to cover up the fact they weren't players obviously. Just LeBeau was reluctant to play rookies for reasons of his own. It could be he didn't think they understood their gap responsibilities or maybe he just trusted the veterans in front of them more? Anyway as Fan as pointed out, it's a new day and the new mindset is that talent trumps system and that we're going to get these guys on the field and let them learn while they play.

[zulater]

I agree with you, when the Steelers come out on opening day for their first defensive series I don't believe any of the three will be in the starting lineup.

Shooting strictly from the hip, I think Davis starts game 1 opposite Mitchell and plays the majority of the snaps throughout the season. I think Burns will rotate in every third series or so to begin with, and as the season progresses we'll figure out who the odd man out will be between Golson, Cockrell, and Burns. I think Hargrove will alternate series with MCullers and will soon emerge as the guy getting the most playing time. Call me a wild eyed optimist but I think this draft could get the defense over the top.

[TaSteel]

I think all three will see significant playing time early on. We didn't used to need to play rookies right away because our D was stacked in the good old days. But now we only have Gay, Cockrell and Isaiah Frey who have played an NFL snap at CB. So Golson, Grant or Burns will have to play a lot. My money is Golson and Burns. Is Golden the answer at SS? No. Davis will get a lot of time in package football until he can take over. And Hargrave has to spot Cam/Tuitt because nobody else can. He may even start NT but I don't know I think Big Dan will shock a few people.

Ultimately Bud, Shazier, Tuitt and Jones all played a lot early on because they had to as we had no depth. Well we have no CB, S or DL depth so the rookies will have to learn fast. Lets be real here is Burns going to be any worse than Blake?!

[Psycho Ward 86]

Neither Cam Heyward or Stephan Tuitt were given much playing time as rookies, and yet they've both are or have the look of top tier players at their position. So there was no smokescreen to cover up the fact they weren't players obviously. Just LeBeau was reluctant to play rookies for reasons of his own. It could be he didn't think they understood their gap responsibilities or maybe he just trusted the veterans in front of them more? Anyway as Fan as pointed out, it's a new day and the new mindset is that talent trumps system and that we're going to get these guys on the field and let them learn while they play.

Tuitt clearly deserved to though over the...other Cam

[Born2Steel]

Nobody is saying these 3 guys are starters. The article says that when asked, Tomlin said he would not be surprised these guys get some starts this season. We all know that if we get a DLine injury, Hargrave will start at that position. If one of the CBs has to miss, Burns has Justas good a shot as being the starter there as anyone else on the team. It's a little bit of a non-article really.

[Craic]

I think we'll see all three of them starting at least once or twice by December, and at least one of them earning the start position permanently. To be honest, I'm also fascinated with Golhson. Think about it, we now have THREE new cornerbacks and a new safety stepping on the field this year, all with tremendous skills. Sure, they may be raw, but their talent is definitely there.

Camp may be fun this year.

[fansince'76]

Tuitt clearly deserved to though over the...other Cam

The...other Cam = "Dirty Dick." :chuckle:

[fansince'76]

The "defense is too complicated" bullshit was just the biggest smokescreen of all time for the fact that they could not draft defense to save their lives for close to a decade.

:chuckle:

Well, that too, but as zu pointed out, even Heyward and Tuitt weren't given much playing time as rookies.