Did the Steelers get a steal in the draft in Cory Trice?

Sometimes, players just have bad luck at some point in their careers but are healthy otherwise. Curtis Martin earned the reputation for being injury-prone at Pitt, but I think he missed only one game during his Hall of Fame NFL career.

 

Every summer we hear about one or two players who are tearing it up in the first half of camp, only to see them fade away during the 2nd half of camp. It makes it hard to get excited over a camp phenom. Now we're supposed to get excited over a guy that looks good in OTAs?

We're talking about a rookie late 7th round pick here. Yes, his injury history hurt his draft position, but even if he didn't have that history he'd have been an early day 3 pick instead of late day 3. Let's see if he can even make the team before calling him a Rookie Of The Year candidate.

Don't get me wrong, I'm rooting for the guy, but I'm not going to believe the media hype until he shows something in the real games.

 

For me the Steelers did!!


I had Cory Trice Jr. as a Top 100 player. To hell with injury concerns for that dude can flat out play his ass off in a Cover 3 Scheme. Also good in man coverage though I believe he still needs some work there. He could potentially also move to safety though I believe keeping him where he is will benefit him in the long run.


One more note regarding the injuries, the advancements in medical techniques and medicine in addition to the Pittsburgh Steelers having either the best or arguably the best in medical care via UPMC makes Trice's Jr.'s injury concerns a non factor. If he had these concerns even five years ago, I would have had some major cause for concern?! Now?! Roll the dice.


I personally believe all of us are looking at both Trice and JPJ as the next CB tandem in Pittsburgh. Why?! Levi Wallace doesn't have much time left and Patrick Peterson has already been on record in stating that this is it for him in the NFL; his last stop being with the Steelers. Barring injury or other extreme circumstances, I expect both Trice and JPJ to play major roles for this team sooner rather than later.

 

I wouldn't assume he was going day three if he had been healthy. I've seen plenty of analysts who said they thought he could go day two.

 

i never said we would give up trice for dawson. dawson would give them the extra slot corner. that's not trices game. pierre and trice i think are at odds. pierre played well last year. trice gives you that safety option though, especially if kazee then drops to the slot in some packages. this will be interesting to watch. peterson has also been talked about as dropping to the slot at times. i agree about dawson being out if they use these combos. i'm not sure if pierre has practice squad eligibility, or how long he would last there.

one thing about the slot is has evolved from just the small quick receivers to many teams move all skillsets of players there at different times. matchups matter. juju played a good bit of slot for KC. even before that some teams move there guys to different spots to create mismatches. steelers have for years.

 

It would certainly be nice for the Steelers to strike gold, or even silver on a late rd cb. I've never seen a team as bad as the Steelers developing CB's.

Honestly, what team is worse as far as drafting and developing CB's. I'm willing to listen.

Odd, considering that our coach for the last 1000 years was actually a DB.

 

This...for potential it looks like a steal, but there has not been any practice with pads let alone any game action. If he makes the team and has even a decent season with special teams and shows growth in position the pick was well worth it, if he balls out then you can say steal. The first week of OTA's there were several podcasts gushing over Alfonzo Graham. I have the same thoughts as you, nice to have a name to root for, but it is a long way till the final cuts.

 

Who's coach was a DB?

 

Ike Taylor was Dan Rooney's boy, his favorite. Nobody was going to run him out of town.

 

The Emperor was a strong believer that you have to play thru the injury if you can, one of the reasons I love the Pgh Steelers
is Steelers don't put up with players that milk injury situations? They get rid of these type's.

 

As he should be.

He could have been listed 11 times last season when he got injured as the defense went in the tank. Still amazed they had no answer. Goes to show the importance of having a healthy TJ Watt this season.

 

Trice is taking advantage of his situation. Lets hope it transfers to Sundays. Mondays and Thursdays as well.

 

Outside of Tomlin, no coach on the current staff was there when the Steelers drafted the last 1st round pick. Not to mention guys like Cam Sutton and Mike Hilton turnt out ok. So I'm just not sure WTF you're talking about.

 

They haven’t prioritised the position in the draft enough over the years to be able to really say that. Apart from Artie Burns (who was a disaster admittedly) they haven’t used a first round pick on a cornerback since the 90’s. Almost all of the top cornerbacks in the league are high pedigree first round picks. It’s very rare to get high level starters at CB after the first round, and even at that most of the ones picked in the first round don’t work out for one reason or another.

Another way of looking at it is to ask what team does develop CB’s well? There is no team coming to mind that is always strong at that position and drafts good CB’s all the time, maybe the Patriots but they have the best defensive coach in the league, and even saying that they had to pay big to get Gilmore in free agency a few years back.

It’s probably the most difficult position to develop after QB and the bust rate is very high across the league.

 

Why did You hate Ike. Was it because of being in BCs dog house???? You could tell once He got His head on straight He would be good. He showed signs of it really early on, but He would blow assignments, and also try doing things that were not His responsibility. Also I believe He sometimes forgot the plays, but Once He got past that He became really good.

 

This.

 

Yep.


Finding even an average starter at CB is so damn difficult as there are multiple forms of criteria to assess before you place said player on your team. If that Corner has a specific style of playing, placing him in a system which plays only to his detriments diminishes his overall effectiveness. Nnamdi Asomugha is a prime example of what happens when a player is taken out of their element and placed into an unwinnable situation. While this decision was Nnamdi's, it still highlights the importance of a Corner not just finding a system that suits them but also identifying the impact that their style brings to the defense.



Again, the three most important positions on any defense are as follows:


1.) EDGE

2.) Outside Corner

3.) Nickel/Safety/Nose Tackle




The third one is no doubt an arduous task but finding a quality Starting CB is much more difficult. Those teams that usually do find them pay them handsomely for that position is tasked to limit or nullify an opposing number one Wide Receiver. Mind you there are only so many Elite Corners in the NFL at one time; five to six at best. This has only been amplified with the continual updates to the NFL Rules that have made the passing game more accessible for all NFL Teams.



Not having even an Average Starting CB is what nets you teams like the 2022 Steelers; opposing Number One Receivers routinely having a field day.

 

Tomlin was not a defensive back. He coached them. He played wide receiver in college.

 

Pierre played well on special teams. He came up with a nice interception against the Colts, but no, I don't think he played all that well when he got his chances at cornerback. He has had ample opportunity to earn his way into a larger role on defense and hasn't been able to do it. He's a good special teamer and a backup corner, but nothing more. Trice, on the other hand, could be more, so the smart thing would be to find out.

 

This. Pierre hit the ground running and looked to have promise. Then he hit a wall. Like you stated a good special teams guy (you need those not making 3 mill some a season) and is a back up corner.

Trice has been taking advantage of his situation in OTA's. Camp will be the real test. Hopefully he excels to a part of the 55 and gets a hat on game day.

 

I think there are a few posters here that have been accused of being premature on more than one occasion

 

13 catches given up on 31 targets last year. 41.9% catch rate last year. Not too bad. Only 3 missed tackles the last 3 years and those were in his second year. Very similar to cam sutton first 3 years as far as use.

2 picks, 4 forced fumbles. Pierre has not played that bad. Not just on specials. Not saying he should be starting but these are not guys we should just let walk away. I think we have to keep as many good young guys as we can. He has had 6 starts in the last 2 years.

 

He's too FRAGILE

 

Nobody was saying he was a ROTY candidate, I don't even expect him to start, I just want him to be a contributor this season.

 

How many outside corners can they keep? He has been around long enough that it is difficult to think he has the upside to be a full-time starter and I he doesn't seem to be an option in the slot. If it comes down to Trice or Pierre, I would rather they give the opportunity to Trice. Wouldn't you?