Steelers Continue DB Makeover With Boykin

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Steelers Continue DB Makeover With Boykin

Aug 02, 2015
Jim Wexell
Publisher SteelCityInsider.net

The Steelers picked up a cover-2 cornerback who was unhappy playing for Chip Kelly.

LATROBE -- The Pittsburgh Steelers are learning the nuances of playing cover-2 in their secondary and helped that cause Saturday night by trading a fifth-round draft pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for cornerback Brandon Boykin.

Boykin is a classic cover-2 corner who wanted to play more and to play for a coach with whom he could communicate better.

The Eagles wanted Boykin to be taller and to stop complaining about a lack of playing time.

Both got their wish, and so did the Steelers.

"They got me because they know I can make plays," said Boykin. "They feel like I can help. That's exactly what I'm going to do."

Boykin is a 5-9 1/2, 185-pounder who started three years at Georgia and made nine interceptions and returned five kicks for touchdowns. He also ripped off an 80-yard touchdown run as a running back who played on both sides of the ball his senior season.

Boykin was knocked for his size coming out, but showed quick feet and an explosive burst and was considered by many teams to be a second-round talent. However, a compound fracture of the fibula in the Senior Bowl knocked Boykin down to the fourth round, where the Eagles drafted him in 2012.

Boykin was a starter by his second year and intercepted six passes to finish second in the NFL. But he lost his starting job the following season and intercepted only one pass as the slot corner in sub-packages. Boykin told a local reporter that he felt Eagles Coach Chip Kelly favored taller cornerbacks, and the current Eagles' roster certainly bears that out.

Formerly the shortest cornerback on the team, Boykin leaves a team that has six cornerbacks 6-0 or taller. The Steelers have only Cortez Allen.

Fuel was thrown on the fire after Boykin was traded to the Steelers and he told a Philadelphia reporter that Kelly was "uncomfortable around grown men of our culture."

It provided fodder on the Internet for talk of racism, but Boykin explained his comment to Pittsburgh reporters Sunday afternoon.

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[Craic]

Thanks for the read.

I liked how he clarified himself on the "race issue," and it made complete sense. He might have been better off not saying it up front, but he cleared the air rather well. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what this defense can do. If we can keep our LBs healthy this year, it'll be real interesting, to say the least.