The Steelers know that if push comes to shove, Cam Sutton can play the slot for them this season. That was their plan when they re-signed Sutton as a free agent and allowed Mike Hilton to leave.
But judging by the team's moves in the NFL Draft and since, it appears they would at least like to have a backup plan there.
It comes down to having options. And if Sutton is the only player on the roster capable of being the primary slot corner for the team, it severely limits the team's options.
Sutton, who will start at right cornerback opposite Joe Haden, would be forced to move inside when the team goes to its sub packages, with another corner, Justin Layne or James Pierre taking his spot on the outside.
"I love that," Sutton said of moving into the slot in sub packages. "It’s more opportunity to impact the game. There are situations where it is a base defense out there. Then there are situations where there are situations based on what we’re seeing. We’re all in it together. We’re all moving pieces and parts. I have the comfortability to start outside and then bump inside. That’s all the versatility in the game."
If the Steelers have another player capable of being a regular in the slot, they have the option of leaving Sutton on the outside in the nickel defense, if not the dime. They also, at least heading into the draft, didn't have much of an option if Sutton were injured, either.
But after selecting Tre Norwood in the seventh round, then signing undrafted rookies Shakur Brown and Lamont Wade, then adding veteran cornerback Arthur Maulet, the Steelers added now have a multitude of candidates to play the slot beyond moving All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to the spot if something were to happen to Sutton.
Fitzpatrick played 379 snaps in the slot as a rookie with the Dolphins -- his most at any position -- then saw his usage there slip to 78 out of 1,113 snaps in his first season with the Steelers in 2019.
Last season, he was moved around by the Steelers a little more than he had been in his first season. He saw 105 out of 1,094 defensive snaps he played lined up in the slot. But the Steelers would obviously much rather have him playing the deep middle as the free safety.
Layne and second-year safety Antoine Brooks also saw some limited snaps last season lined up in the slot. Layne played two snaps there when the team was in a man-to-man defense and he shifted inside with the player he was tasked in covering. Brooks, meanwhile, played 20 snaps in the slot, 19 of which came in Week 10 against the Bengals when Hilton, the team's primary slot player the past three seasons, was injured.
But at 5-11, 210 pounds, Brooks, while having position flexibility, isn't ideal to play that spot.
That means Maulet, Norwood, Brown, Wade or even fellow undrafted rookie Mark Gilbert of Duke might be able to win a spot on the roster by showing they can play in the slot.
Straight-line speed and size aren't as necessary as they are on the outside. It's more about change-of-direction ability and being a solid tackler since the slot is much closer to the line of scrimmage. That's why a lot of teams don't mind putting a safety at the spot, giving them a player capable of helping out in the run game.
Maulet easily has the most experience on the roster outside of Sutton in doing it. The 28-year-old played 247 snaps in the slot last season for the Jets, up from 20 in 2019 and 6 in 2018 when he was with the Saints.
While Maulet (5-10, 190), who was signed Friday, also played some free safety and cornerback last season, he allowed 20 completions on 32 pass attempts in his coverage, for 227 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. He had five pass defenses.
Norwood (6-0, 194) played a nickel role last season at Oklahoma, seeing 179 snaps in the slot. He also saw 145 snaps in the slot in 2019. In 2020, he allowed just 16 completions on 30 passes thrown his way, recording five interceptions and allowing two touchdowns. Opposing quarterbacks had a 46.4 passer rating when targeting him.
Norwood profiles very much like Sutton as a player capable of lining up at cornerback, safety or in the slot.
"I’m a guy who, in college I kind of played everywhere," Norwood said. "I’ve always prided myself on being able to know every position in the back end, and I feel like that has helped me out a lot throughout my career. So a Swiss Army Knife, that’s something that, my coaches kind of used that term to describe me as well in college. I feel like that’s a great description of me and something I pride myself on – being able to play any position on the back end."
Brown (5-11, 190) played 114 snaps in the slot in 2020 at Michigan State, seeing the majority of his playing time (311 snaps) as an outside corner. He played just eight snaps in the slot in 2019.
Brown allowed 26 completions on 42 targets in 2020 for 306 yards and one touchdown. Like Norwood, he also intercepted five passes and allowed a passer rating of 52.4.
Wade and Gilbert might be longer shots to hold that position.
Wade, a Clairton, Pa. native, played outside cornerback in his first season at Penn State before moving to safety and also playing some slot. But he also had just one career interception, though he also had three sacks. He has not shown the ball skills of the other players in this battle.
Gilbert, meanwhile, has done so, albeit all the way back in 2017, when the nephew of former Pitt and NFL star Sean Gilbert, an Aliquippa, Pa. native, had six interceptions.
But he suffered a dislocated hip in 2018, playing just two games, then returned in 2020 and played just two games because of an ankle injury. The 6-1, 175-pound corner had one interception in 2020, but has played just four games since 2017.