The Steelers' investment into the cornerback position in recent years has boosted their depth chart to the point that Cameron Sutton struggled to get playing time toward the end of 2018.
With the addition of Steven Nelson and Justin Layne, Sutton has gone from being the first replacement at cornerback to maybe fighting for any defensive snaps in 2019. But that shouldn't be any reason for Sutton to be left behind.
Here's why he's a player I'm keeping my eye on through training camp:
Sutton saw time in his rookie season after Joe Haden went down to injury against the Bengals. Since then he has matched up with several big name receivers like A.J. Green, Brandin Cooks and Josh Gordon. Those snaps have brought ups and downs as Sutton showed ability to play several different cornerback spots on the field, but would be victimized by great plays in tough moments.
One of those moments came when Gordon created just enough separation for him to beat Sutton in the season opener and catch a touchdown from Tyrod Taylor. But watch Sutton's feet at the start of the play and you'll notice how he takes one inside step, then freezes from Gordon's stutter step, giving the separation Gordon wants. Sutton shows great effort to finish the play and splits Gordon's hands, but because he's slightly beat, he never gets his head around to find the ball:
Sutton would bounce back later in this game, intercepting Taylor while covering Gordon. But his biggest hurdle has been refining the smaller parts of his game to be in position to make better plays on the ball. This resulted in a drop of his defensive playing time percentage (excludes special teams) from as high as 72.4 percent in week four, to not seeing more than 26.5 percent in any game after week six.
Sutton's a smart player and a student of the game who makes good adjustments in coverage. He's also a guy who can be moved about the secondary to fill different roles, just like he did in college at Tennessee.
But the Steelers need cornerbacks who can consistently win those tough battles against top receivers and create turnovers that aren't just from underthrown passes. Part of that will come from the team's focus to create more turnovers in 2019.
Dale Lolley wrote about how the addition of Teryl Austin as a coach could help the secondary in that department. I also alluded to the idea that his combined work with Tom Bradley could help the secondary that improved on limiting big plays in 2018, and compound that by improving their turnover production in 2019.
All indications suggest that's the plan, and that could be very good for Sutton, in particular, because of his skill set. Sutton has always been a guy who was good at keeping the play in front of him and making fundamental pass breakups when in position.
Bradley helped him and the secondary stay coordinated last season. But if Sutton takes the next step and can add a couple more interceptions to his resume, he could very well earn his keep. Watch this breakup against C.J. Uzomah, where he gets to the high point of the ball and swats away a pass on what the Bengals thought was a mismatch between their taller tight end and Sutton:
The unfortunate situation for Sutton is that even if he makes these strides, there will be limited opportunities to showcase them. The Steelers will make Joe Haden and Nelson their top pair with Mike Hilton as their best slot option. But Sutton has to beat out Layne and Artie Burns to get more time behind that crew.
When his time comes, he will have to strike fast.
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