Mike Hilton was a revelation in 2017, a player who had been released by both the Jaguars and Patriots as a rookie but found success with the Steelers as the team's nickel corner in just his second season in the NFL.
But the Steelers felt Hilton took a step backward in 2018, as injuries and his overall lack of size made him a frequently targeted player in the team's defense.
It led to Cameron Sutton getting more snaps in the slot late last season, a trend that will continue when the Steelers open their OTA sessions in two weeks as they begin to ramp up for the 2019 season.
Had the Steelers failed in their attempt to move up in the first round of last week's draft, it's likely they would have selected a corner or safety capable of also playing in the slot. As things worked out, however, they did move up from the 20th to the 10th pick, a jump that cost them their second-round pick this year and their third next year.
Instead of a defensive back in the first round, they selected linebacker Devin Bush. Then, they grabbed receiver Diontae Johnson with their first of two third-round picks, taking corner Justin Layne with the second.
But the 6-foot-2 Layne isn't a player who is going to challenge Hilton in the slot. He's strictly an outside corner.
After allowing 38 receptions for 468 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions in 2017, Hilton gave up 51 catches for 601 yards and five scores and one interception in 2018, per playerprofiler.com. And at 5 feet 9, 183 pounds, Hilton, though a willing tackler, can be a liability against the run. He's still an outstanding blitzer, but the Steelers feel his lack of foot speed leaves him in a trail position far too often in coverage.
That's where they feel Sutton could make a difference. At 5-foot-11, 188 pounds, Sutton offers a little more size for the position. Over the final few games of last season, the team began rotating he and Hilton in the slot.
The Steelers had been using Sutton as their jack-of-all-trades before that, putting him all over the secondary in OTAs and even into training camp, including using him as a dime linebacker.
But the plan this year is to allow Sutton to fully compete with Hilton for the starting slot corner spot.
MORE STEELERS
• The Steelers have informed the agent for cornerback Artie Burns they will not be picking up his fifth-year option for the 2020 season. That's a surprise to no one, considering Burns has fallen out of favor with the team. The 2017 first-round draft pick just hasn't fit into what the Steelers do on defense. And paying him $9.9 million just wasn't going to happen. That doesn't mean Burns can't make the team this year, however, and save his career. But the selection of Justin Layne in the third round of the draft and the addition of Steven Nelson in free agency doesn't help. As Mike Tomlin said at the NFL Meetings in March, the Steelers aren't counting on Burns any longer. That part of this is over. If he's going to make this roster, it will only be because he's one of their top five or six corners. Otherwise, look for Burns to be traded. He could still have some value to a team that plays a lot of man coverage. -- Lolley
• Rookie shortstop Cole Tucker quickly became a favorite with Pirates fans thanks to the team's shoddy play at the position early and his home run in his first game after being brought up from Indianapolis. But here's a reason for Steelers fans to pay attention to the former first-round draft pick. Tucker grew up in the Phoenix area and his next-door neighbor was a guy by the name of Kelvin Fisher. Fisher was a former star running back at Ambridge who played collegiately at Arizona State and then stayed in that area for his job. His other job? He's an area scout for the Steelers. Because of his schedule, Fisher was at home a lot during key months, and all of the kids in the neighborhood would congregate at the Fisher residence. Fisher, a member of the Beaver County Chapter of the Penn. Sports Hall of Fame, would give them all Steelers gear to wear. This past weekend, I was shown a photo of a very young Tucker playing in a Steelers T-shirt. -- Lolley
PENGUINS
• In a column earlier this week, I described the Penguins as being deeply affected by some 'richly unprofessional conduct' by Phil Kessel. That's as far as I took it, because that's 100 percent confirmed by multiple sources within the organization. Some readers in comments sought specifics. Those are always harder to present because they involve an additional layer of confirmation, as opposed to something as simple as the team being disappointed by the player. What I'm comfortable sharing at this level of confirmation is this: Kessel's well-known passion for poker/gambling affected his focus and preparation, in the eyes of the team, including into the Stanley Cup playoffs. Also, his open insubordination toward Mike Sullivan and the assistant coaches, as well as repeated vocal berating of the team's staff -- media relations people, equipment managers and others -- has more than worn thin with all concerned. I've witnessed the latter with my own eyes -- as have several others -- most recently in the PPG Paints Arena locker room minutes after the Game 4 loss. When the team was winning, it was mostly shrugged off with Phil-being-Phil jokes. Not anymore. -- Dejan Kovacevic
• Can't repeat this often enough: I've never had a problem with the guy. He's always been a complete pro with me. But then, how he is with me doesn't matter. How he is -- and how he's viewed -- within the Penguins does. -- DK
• What Jim Rutherford does with Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and/or Kessel matters most this summer, obviously, but he's hardly limiting his scope to that. He told me this week he's been immersed in many internal discussions, including some that have nothing to do with the roster. He didn't specify what that meant, but I'm told from another source the team is at least preparing for the possible loss of Jacques Martin from the coaching staff, as he's currently a candidate for the top jobs in Ottawa and Buffalo. If Martin is lost, the only viable candidate from within is Sergei Gonchar, though his bench experience is limited to the occasional exposure he had this past season. Martin's responsibilities have included managing the penalty-kill and rolling the defense pairs. -- DK
• The Penguins again will send a personal trainer to Russia to help Malkin arrive at training camp in optimal shape. That started last summer, and the team was delighted with the result, as well as how Malkin went on to perform in the opening quarter of the regular season. The goal, as it was last year, is to adjust conditioning to age, something the Penguins pushed -- and I mean hard -- with Chris Kunitz late in his tenure here. Malkin will turn 33 in July. What'll be more challenging is communicating and conveying how they'd like him to alter his approach with age. He's already in Europe, preparing to play in the World Championship in Slovakia. -- DK
• Not that this should even be a subject, but since most everything else seems to be: The confidence in Sullivan couldn't be higher. -- DK
PIRATES
• The Pirates’ two-game sweep of the Rangers in Arlington this week brought back good memories for Clint Hurdle, who served as Texas’ hitting coach for one season in 2010. The Rangers won the American League pennant that season, and Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero was one of their key players. And, yes, Hurdle remembers Vladimir Guerrero Jr., now the ultra-hyped Blue Jays rookie third-baseman. Vladimir Sr. asked Hurdle to work with his son during a sweltering Saturday afternoon in August at Globe Life Park. Hurdle threw batting practice to the then 10-year-old for a half hour. “It wasn’t like working with a normal 10-year-old, I’ll tell you that,” Hurdle recalled. “He was very advanced for his age and he hit the ball hard, I mean really hard. I doubt if he remembers me, but I remember him.” – John Perrotto in Arlington, Texas
• The visit to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex was also a trip down memory lane for Jeff Banister. The Rangers fired Banister last September with 10 games left in his fourth season as manager. Banister led the Rangers to AL West titles in 2015 and 2016 and was voted AL Manager of the Year in ’15. Despite the abrupt end to his time in Texas, Banister insists he is not bitter and is hoping to get another chance to manage in the major leagues. “I loved every moment in that dugout, in that clubhouse,” he said. "If somebody believes that I have the skill set to help their team, obviously I have to listen.” That team could be the Pirates, who brought Banister back to the organization in January. He seems the logical successor should Hurdle decide to retire when his contract expires at the end of the 2021 season. -- Perrotto
• Bryan Reynolds has a hit in each of his first nine major-league games. The only Pirates player since 1900 who started his career with a longer streak was Gregory Polanco with an 11-gamer in 2014. Polanco is enjoying watching his new outfield mate and it brings back memories. “It was a good time,” Polanco said. “But this guy is hitting for more power than I did. He has a nice swing. He keeps things simple. He’s going to be a really good big-league hitter.” Reynolds will see the majority of his playing time in left and could be a lineup fixture for a while as Corey Dickerson is not close to being ready to come off the injured list because of his strained right shoulder. – Perrotto
• Another rookie outfielder, Jason Martin, did not have eye-popping statistics being before being optioned back to Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday when Starling Marte was activated from the IL. The 23-year-old hit .229/.289/.286 in 17 games. Yet he made a good impression on Hurdle and his teammates, and certainly looks like a useful player for the future. Martin was one of four players acquired from the Astros in the Gerrit Cole trade before last season, including Joe Musgrove, Colin Moran and Michael Feliz. "His teammates embraced him, and he provided a shot of adrenaline when he initially got here,” Hurdle said. “He got a shot of confidence by being here. I believe he will be a better player for the experience.” -- Perrotto