The Steelers brought in defensive backs coach Tom Bradley last season to help a secondary that gave up several chunk plays in 2017. But with the secondary still struggling, the Steelers hired Teryl Austin as a defensive assistant to address the new problem of decreased turnovers.
While the team likes what Bradley helped put together with the discipline of the Steelers' defensive backs, Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin know it needs more turnovers, and Austin was hired to complement Bradley's discipline by improving the unit's ball skills.
We dive into what that future might look like, as well as the secondary's grades:
While no defense can be great without the right playmakers, they can be disciplined enough to stick to their schemes. The Steelers' secondary did that much better in 2018, but not enough to improve the team's stats.
The Steelers ranked tenth against the pass in 2018, but they lacked the key turnovers that other top-ranked pass defenses forced. The Steelers' eight interceptions ranked them 28th in the league, compared to 2017 when their 16 interceptions were the ninth most.
That difference is why the Steelers fell from the No. 5 pass defense in 2017 to No. 10 in 2018. While they got an improvement at free safety with Sean Davis calling out the plays and being in position more often than Mike Mitchell, teams were able to capitalize when their quarterback mistakes resulted in just incomplete passes instead of interceptions.
Incomplete passes only end drives on third and fourth down, but interceptions are guaranteed game-changers.
The key statistic showing improvement was the Steelers rise in passes defended. In 2017 they ranked No. 14 in passes defended with 73, tied with the Bengals.
But in 2018, they ranked as the No. 3 team in the NFL in passes defended with 83. While just ten more passes defended may not seem like many, it's important to note because the entire NFL saw a surge in dominant passing offenses early in the season, with teams like the Chiefs and Rams lighting up scoreboards.
While the Steelers were on the list of defenses shredded by the Chiefs, their improvement in getting to the ball for breakups was important to stopping big plays.
Still, what does it matter if they can break-up more passes if teams keep getting second and third chances to throw against their secondary? Those extra chances gave star quarterbacks like Drew Brees, Patrick Mahomes, and Phillip Rivers, and even mediocre ones like Case Keenum, the opportunity to finish drives. And the Steelers lost to all of those quarterbacks in 2018.
While the NFL becomes more of a passing league, the Steelers have to improve and adjust. Austin's experience as a defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator has produced roller-coaster results, but mostly because of his personnel.
For example, last year he had the NFL's worst defense with the Bengals while the team relied on rookie Jessie Bates to be its best player in the secondary. But back in 2014, when he had a young Darius Slay, Glover Quin, James Ihedigbo and Rashean Mathis, his Detroit Lions defense ranked No. 3 in points allowed and No. 2 in yards allowed.
That defense dropped off significantly as the Lions reshaped their roster and lost Ndamakong Suh, along with Mathis and other players. But it showed a glimpse of the kind of system the Steelers need as the Lions ranked No. 3 in interceptions.
The Steelers have the aggressive defensive line to stop the run and rush the passer, and are improving at linebacker. But they need the ball hawks in the secondary to complete the defense; most likely one at cornerback across from Joe Haden, and a safety in the place of Sean Davis.
While Terrell Edmunds and Mike Hilton, have proven to be good role players so far, an increase in turnovers has to be part of the new Steelers defense. Bradley helped improve the unit's discipline and integrity in assignments, but Austin's value to the team will most likely be tied strictly to turnover production and improvement in ball skills for the group.
Final Grades
Here’s how these will work: We will grade each unit on the team and display how the players did through each quarter of the season, with each quarter represented by four games. Our War Room series has graded players on our stars and skulls system, so it’s time to add them all up and show their final marks.
Each game was graded on this scale:
Had a big play or a decent game 
Very impressive, multiple big plays
Elite performance
Gave up a big play without redemption 
Total performance was a disappointment
Horrible, inexcusable
If a player was average or unremarkable, they received no mark for that game. We have tallied all their performances to see who was the top of the class.
Valedictorian: Joe Haden
First Quarter: 5 0 3 Games
Second Quarter: 100 4 Games
Third Quarter: 62 4 Games
Fourth Quarter: 62 4 Games
Final Marks: 274 A
Best Game: Week 15 vs. Patriots
Worst Game: Week 13 vs. Chargers
Haden is the key playmaker and consistent contributor the secondary can build around. His stellar play helped balance the rest of the group, even in their sloppier games. The unit's worst performance came against the Chiefs, the only game Haden missed.
While most of the secondary could stick to their assignments and at least be in their right spots, Haden combined the consistency of playing his role in schemes and performing at an elite level to make plays beyond what could simply be drawn up with X's and O's.
Watch his biggest play of the year, his interception of Tom Brady. Haden drops into a zone and not only covers ground to protect his assignment, but tracks down Brady's rushed throw and makes the biggest play from the Steelers' secondary in years:
He's still the Steelers' best player in the secondary moving forward, and being a player that never relied on pure speed or explosiveness, he should still be expected to play at a high level in 2019.
Mike Hilton
First Quarter: 2 0 3 Games
Second Quarter: 120 4 Games
Third Quarter: 12 4 Games
Fourth Quarter: 21 4 Games
Final Marks: 173 B
Best Game: Week 9 at Ravens
Worst Game: Week 12 vs. Chargers
Hilton was still the solid slot cornerback he was in 2017. He's feisty, shifty and tackles well in space. He was one of the highest rated cornerbacks for the Steelers in the first half of the season, but his performance averaged out in the second half when he had to cover more talented slot receivers like Keenan Allen and face different passing attacks.
While Keith Butler does need ball hawks in the secondary, Hilton is still a tough role player that can prove more than useful against the NFL's shiftier receivers.
Terrell Edmunds
First Quarter: 0 2 4 Games
Second Quarter: 40 4 Games
Third Quarter: 40 4 Games
Fourth Quarter: 41 4 Games
Final Marks: 12 3 B-
Best Game: Week 5 vs. Falcons
Worst Game: Week 4 vs. Ravens
Edmunds, their first-round pick in 2018, fit into his safety role quickly, totaling the second-most snaps of any defensive back for the Steelers. His combination of size and quickness made him an option to play in the box to help against the run and cover various targets against the pass.
Edmunds' impressive diversity of skills allowed him to take on various assignments. Watch how he jumps outside the numbers to cover tight end Mark Andrews on a fly route. He makes sure to keep himself between Andrews and Joe Flacco to force the pass to be pinpoint accurate, then jumps at the right moment and swats the ball away:
Edmunds also made some mistakes with his ball skills, dropping more than a couple interceptions on the year. That part can come with time, but an equally important part of his growth will be to decrease his mental gaffes in coverage. While proficient most of the season, he had occasional lapses that proved costly.
Namely, Oakland's game-winning touchdown pass from Derek Carr to Derek Carrier. Everyone remembers how open Carrier was because of how Hilton was playing outside leverage, but the key mistake was that Edmunds was too late to help with inside leverage. The Steelers felt comfortable with Haden in single coverage, but Edmunds mistakenly doubled Haden's man, opening up Carrier and the easy throw. At the last second of the replay, you can see his hands go straight to his helmet as he realizes his mistake, while Hilton walks to him to explain what happened:
Edmunds had a solid rookie season and could be a vital part of this team's future. His leaps in understanding the scheme and playing different roles as a safety proved useful, but he will have to continue that improvement into his second year and couple that with more turnovers.
Artie Burns
First Quarter: 0 5 4 Games
Second Quarter: 02 2 Games
Third Quarter: 03 2 Games
Fourth Quarter: 00 1 Game
Final Marks: 010 F
Best Game: Week 5 vs. Falcons
Worst Game: Week 2 vs. Chiefs
Burns was one of the key players to watch this season, as his improvement would've been a huge boost to the makeup of the defense. But his 2018 was a complete fall off from a developmental player who showed real potential in 2016 and 2017. He was supposed to be the cornerback opposite Haden that could be relied upon to be on an island of single coverage, but turned out to be the team's biggest liability.
Watch how he commits too early to this deep ball to Mike Evans and gives up a 51-yard reception:
Burns has the size and speed for the position, but his complete lack of confidence in his own skills and mental errors combined to make him the worst graded player on this team. His failures forced the team to rely on journeyman Coty Sensabaugh to start at cornerback.
I doubt he'll be given much room to redeem himself in 2019, unless he surprises the team in camp and has a strong preseason. But even that might not restore whatever confidence the coaches had in him. He will have his opportunity, but my bet is the team will bring in a big name at cornerback and he will only have the tiniest window to show he's still worthy to play on the team.
Sean Davis
First Quarter: 3 3 4 Game
Second Quarter: 30 4 Games
Third Quarter: 04 4 Games
Fourth Quarter: 32 3 Games
Final Marks: 99 C-
Best Game: Week 15 vs. Patriots
Worst Game: Week 2 vs. Chiefs
Davis' visible play was not enough to determine his contributions to the team. He had the most snaps of any defensive player because of his importance in communication in the secondary and limiting offenses in the chunk plays that the Steelers' defense gave up in 2017.
That part was improved for Davis, but even with his switch from strong safety to free safety, his tackling and lack of ball skills were evident. Here he is with a clean shot on Alvin Kamara on a second half touchdown run:
Free safeties have to be expected to make plays like that in open space. While he was good at keeping the unit on the same page, he has to contribute more on a performance level if the Steelers are going to rely on him for years to come. Don't be surprised if they continue to invest at safety.
Coty Sensabaugh
First Quarter: 1 2 3 Games
Second Quarter: 01 4 Games
Third Quarter: 43 4 Games
Fourth Quarter: 22 4 Games
Final Marks: 78 D+
Best Game: Week 10 vs. Panthers
Worst Game: Week 3 at Buccaneers
Being fair to Sensabaugh, he was a backup that jumped into a starting role in a secondary with several new or developing players. He was a reliable role player at his position, but whenever tasked with the assignment of simply beating out another team's top receiver, he would often lose.
When offenses can look right to your second cornerback and scheme to attack his side of the field, it usually leads to problems. Sensabaugh did a solid job knowing where he was supposed to be most of the season, but he's just not good enough to win the battles outside the numbers consistently as a cornerback.
Cameron Sutton
First Quarter: 1 1 4 Games
Second Quarter: 00 3 Games
Third Quarter: 00 1 Game
Fourth Quarter: 00 3 Games
Final Marks: 11 C
Best Game: Week 1 at Browns
Worst Game: Week 2 vs Chiefs
Sutton got more snaps in his second season, but couldn't beat out Sensabaugh for the second cornerback position when Burns needed to be replaced. He showed to be capable in 2017 with various spell performances, but did not hold up against the Chiefs and missed five games in 2018.
He's another player that looks to be in position when he's playing, but hasn't combined that with the ball skills needed outside the numbers and isn't as good of a slot cornerback as Hilton. That combination kept him from getting more opportunities and need to be his key focus if he wants a better chance in his third season.
Morgan Burnett
First Quarter: 0 2 2 Games
Second Quarter: 20 2 Games
Third Quarter: 11 3 Games
Fourth Quarter: 53 4 Games
Final Marks: 84 C+
Best Game: Week 15 vs. Patriots
Worst Game: Week 14 at Raiders
Morgan Burnett was brought in to stabilize the secondary by helping against the run and covering tight ends. Between his injuries and lack of production as a sub-package linebacker, Burnett didn't really fit the place he was assigned to fill. He did make solid veteran plays at points, but he was neither the playmaker nor the athlete the Steelers needed flying across the middle of the field.
Jordan Dangerfield
First Quarter: 0 0 0Games
Second Quarter: 00 2 Games
Third Quarter: 00 3 Games
Fourth Quarter: 10 2 Games
Final Marks: 10 C
Best Game: Week 17 vs. Bengals
Worst Game: Week 11 at Jaguars
Jordan Dangerfield would have been skipped over for these grades were it not for his solid performance against the Bengals at the end of the season. He filled in for Davis and did an admirable job as the communicator across the secondary, while also providing solid support across the middle of the field.
He even had a pass breakup on a big hit that didn't get recorded because of a Javon Hargrave penalty, but had he not forced an incomplete pass on the late drive, the Bengals would've declined the penalty and had a better chance to put the game away with a touchdown.
Dangerfield is not the answer at safety, but he's a good enough backup to remain on the roster.
Note: I have excluded both Marcus Allen and Brian Allen from these grades as neither played enough meaningful snaps this season nor received positive or negative marks during the season.
Defensive Backs Final Grade: C+
First Quarter Average: C+
Second Quarter Average: A-
Third Quarter Average: C+
Fourth Quarter Average: C+
The secondary's improvement in discipline and assignments were a needed boost to the defense, but without players that can create turnovers the defense is in for another mediocre year.
They have a good player in Haden and good potential with Edmunds, but they need at least one or two ball hawks that can jump passes and takeaway big plays from other teams and turn them into big plays for the Steelers. Especially with the major departures of Le'Veon Bell and, expectedly, Antonio Brown on offense, this has to be the key point of emphasis for the defense in 2019: Creating turnovers to give the offense shorter fields to score points.
