Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers made a massive shakeup to their secondary last week, when general manager Omar Khan sent out former All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in a trade with the Miami Dolphins and landed former All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
In many ways, the trade of the defensive backs was an exchange of assets of relatively equal value. If anything, the Steelers probably come out somewhat ahead in the talent ledger when it comes to the swap of DBs — and that doesn’t even include Pittsburgh landing Pro Bowl tight end Jonnu Smith in the deal.
Both Fitzpatrick and Ramsey are three-time All-Pros, with Ramsey earning his last all-league selection in 2021, and Fitzpatrick 2022. Ramsey is 30. Fitzpatrick is 28. Ramsey will cost the Steelers slightly more than Fitzpatrick would have, but plays a more valuable position. Ramsey has five interceptions over the last two seasons, Fitzpatrick has one.
It’s one thing to win the trade. It’s another thing to make winning the trade result in winning more football games. For that to happen, the Steelers are going to have to figure out how to piece their secondary together without Fitzpatrick.
There isn’t one obvious way to move forward. Let’s start by breaking down the pieces involved.
The No. 32 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Porter was a full-time starter for the first time in his NFL career in 2022. After a promising rookie season, he didn’t make a big jump forward in 2023, but still showed his potential while going up against some of the toughest receivers the NFL has to offer as the Steelers’ clear No. 1 cornerback.
In nine games last season, he allowed three or fewer receptions. In 10 games, he allowed less than 30 yards receiving. He completely shut down some of the better receivers in the NFL:
Drake London: three targets, two catches, 15 yards
Courtland Sutton: four targets, one catch, 26 yards
Rashod Bateman: 10 targets, five catches, 68 yards (over three games)
He also had his struggles. Terry McLaurin put up 113 yards against him. So did Michael Pittman. A.J. Brown had 110. Darius Slayton had 108. Tee Higgins had 122 and a touchdown over two games. He also helped draw six flags against Porter in one game at Cincinnati in 2024.
The flags are probably the biggest part of his game that needs to be cleaned up for Porter in 2025. And while Porter has actively sought out those top matchups week-in and week-out, it will probably help him for the Steelers to have cornerbacks that are different stylistic fits that can handle different types of No. 1 receivers.
Porter’s size and physicality will always be his calling cards. That’s a great recipe for someone to match up with a player like Higgins, but probably not so much against someone like McLaurin.
So how will the Steelers deploy Porter in 2025? Porter is the only member of the team’s secondary that could be a...
