While the Steelers rested Artie Burns during the past few practices, the defense got to see what life would be like with Ross Cockrell and Coty Sensabaugh as the starting pair of cornerbacks.
When Burns was healthy, he regularly matched up with Antonio Brown in team sessions. His speed and cover skills weren't enough for him to lock Brown down, but the challenge was enough to turn heads at camp. The two quickly became rivals, though Brown was still significantly better than Burns with his expertise and superstar skills.
Cockrell had been left to cover the team's second option at receiver, whether that was Justin Hunter, Eli Rogers, or Juju Smith-Schuster. His performance in camp was consistent with his results on the field over the past two seasons with the Steelers.
While not being the fastest or an exceptional ball hawk, Cockrell employs solid fundamentals in his footwork and hand usage to keep up with athletic receivers in the NFL. It's made him a reliable role player who can be counted on to adequately play his part in the various defensive schemes the Steelers employ.
When he matched up with Hunter in the first two weeks of camp, Cockrell would trade wins on plays with the newly acquired free agent. Hunter won several jump balls and deep routes, but Cockrell was rarely out of position in these situations. In the instances Hunter won, it was not because of anything Cockrell was doing wrong, but because Hunter was able to gain a step with his speed or just got up higher for a jump ball.
After numerous passes defensed, Cockrell had gone up against all the available receivers the Steelers had to offer, save for Brown. That changed when Burns sat out practice on Friday and Cockrell got to match up against the Steelers' best receiver.
What I noticed in his successes and failures while guarding Brown was how he was able to keep up when there was limited space, but less so when Brown ran deeper routes. In goal line situations Cockrell could use his hands to force Brown's route to one side or the other, so that he just had to work within a small area to run and keep up with Brown's faster feet.
Cockrell had multiple passes defensed while covering Brown, especially on short routes. Most notable was when Brown used a delayed out-and-up route in the end zone, something he had used with Ben Roethlisberger numerous times in regular season games.
The trick of the play is that Roethlisberger releases the ball before Brown breaks out of his out route, aiming towards the back pylon of the end zone while Brown is still running an out to the front pylon. A cornerback in that situation normally has his eyes solely on Brown and doesn't even see the pass going in a completely different direction. So when Brown cuts up to the back pylon, the cornerback has no idea a pass is coming, and without an exceptionally quick reaction, Brown will have a free opportunity for the ball.
When Cockrell faced this on Saturday, he played it better than several starting cornerbacks who had been beaten with that route had over the years. He used his inside hand to force Brown to the sideline and was in position to react quickly to Brown's cut to the back pylon.
The play resulted in a simple breakup and an incomplete pass. While it was impressive, Brown still took advantage of Cockrell on numerous occasions on both Saturday and Sunday. One was even a broken play where Brown changed course once Roethlisberger started to scramble, and Ben found Brown in the back of the end zone behind Cockrell and Robert Golden.
When it came to Brown's fly routes, deep ins and even shorter routes that weren't goal line situations, Brown made big play after big play. That shouldn't discourage Cockrell, as Brown has done that to many starting cornerbacks who get paid much more than Cockrell.
When Cockrell was bumped up to the top cornerback position in Burns' absence, Sensabaugh took his old position in the depth chart. Sensabaugh comes from the Giants, where he was strictly a slot cornerback after getting cut by the Rams midseason last year.
The Steelers showed they were ready to deploy Sensabaugh in both the slot and outside the numbers on split ends and flankers. His advantages involve his ability to quickly change directions both laterally and vertically on the field. He's not an elite straight-line speedster, but does have the speed to keep up with most speedy receivers on deep routes.
He also is developing his coverage skills in his ability to anticipate the footwork and routes of his assigned receivers so that he can react quickly and accurately. On one deep ball from Roethlisberger to Hunter, Sensabaugh was beaten badly on a wheel route. But with a slightly underthrown pass and a bobble by Hunter, Sensabaugh recovered and was able to swat the ball away.
That's the thing with Sensabaugh -- the strengths he relies on involve his hustle to keep up with opponents and his quick feet to adjust when he's initially beaten; he doesn't give up on plays. He knows he needs to make his mark after bouncing between three teams in his first five seasons.
Sensabaugh will get his chance to show just how well he integrates into the defense in the upcoming preseason games, the first of which comes against his former team, the Giants.
What has been interesting about seeing these two have to step up in the recent practices is that it cast a brighter light on their skills and limitations. The Steelers need young, fast players who can run with athletic receivers and stay within their scheme and the several alternating responsibilities in coverage assignments.
Having options behind Burns could lead the team to be willing to apply more aggressive coverage that presses receivers, surrendering less ground to shorter passes and quicker routes. While William Gay still can plug and play anywhere at cornerback in their system, the team needs younger players with the burst to keep up with quick cuts.
If you're thinking that it would be better for the team to try to invest more than just role players into the depth of the position, keep in mind that the franchise can only afford to invest so much in various positions while keeping stars like Roethlisberger, Brown and Le'Veon Bell.
Due to the salary cap, teams have to concede that there will be areas they can't invest much into past the occasional replenishment with free agents or mid-round draft selections.
If Sensabaugh and Cockrell can work out to be those role players for the team, their roster spots become that much more vital because they can fill needs without costing several millions of dollars in cap space or high draft picks.

Ross Cockrell (31) runs drills with Marcus Tucker (16) in Sunday night's practice - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS
Steelers
Carter at camp: Cockrell, Sensabaugh show starting potential
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