I Apologize DeShon Elliot, I Was Not Familiar With Your Game
Steelers twitter/x turned into a pretty divisive place yesterday when it was confirmed that the team is bringing back CB Cameron Sutton on a one-year deal. Sutton was recently in the news for the wrong reasons when he was, essentially, on the run from the law when an arrest warrant was issued for him for an alleged domestic violence incident back in March. Innocent people don’t handle a situation like that the way he has handled it, but I digress. In lieu of this news, I decided to spend the day focusing on another newcomer in the secondary: safety DeShon Elliot.
When we signed him in March, I referenced the fact that signing Elliot wouldn’t make headlines, but it was a sneaky good move because of what he can provide in run support. Having dove into some film, and the Dolphins’ Reddit community, I’m prepared to double down on that sentiment with a slight amendment: it’s a damn good move, especially at two years, $6 million. That word “sneaky” isn’t necessary. It seems sneaky, because his stats don’t jump out at you, but they don’t have to. The tape speaks for itself.
When you’re watching the Steelers this year, I think you’ll hear Elliot’s name the most when the Steelers are lined up in their base 3-4 defense. Steel Curtain Network has a great, new youtube video where they describe the role of the strong safety in the Steelers’ 3-4 defense. Elliot is touted as a bigger, hard-hitting safety, and he’ll be at his most useful in the strong safety spot playing up on the line of scrimmage and defending the flat. Minkah Fitzpatrick will, arguably, be the biggest beneficiary of this arrangement, because that will allow him to roam the middle of the field like he used to when he was putting up borderline DPOY numbers. Damontae Kazee is also great in that strong safety role, but he just isn’t disciplined enough to be trusted over a 17-game span.
With all that being said, this is a passing league, and the Steelers line up in nickel packages more often than they do in their base 3-4 defense (simply put, nickel equals five DBs on the field). This is where the Elliot signing sounded less appealing to me, because as the title indicates, I was not familiar with his game. The tape tells me that I’m a dumbass for feeling that way. You don’t hear his name in coverage very often, because he is usually exactly where he’s supposed to be, and the ball isn’t getting thrown his way. He consistently shows a strong understanding of route concepts, and is able to quickly diagnose plays and identify assignments in zone coverage.
Having spoken to some Dolphins fans to gauge their reaction to losing him, there was a sentiment that most of them seemed to share: that he was one of those glue guys on their defense, and when he wasn’t on the field they struggled. By all accounts, he’s a smart player and a strong communicator, and he probably could have signed a deal worth double what he signed for in Pittsburgh. When I heard that, I was reminded of his introductory press conference, where he was asked what made him want to sign with us, and he pointed to the logo. Often times guys talk about the history of the Steelers and what it means to them, but to take a fraction of the money you were (probably) offered to play elsewhere, like Patrick Queen did, and now, like Elliot did, it makes us diehard fans feel a certain type of way, and I’m excited to see what he’s able to bring to this defense.
Forgive me for doubling back on this point (Minkah Fitzpatrick is my favorite player), but he’s the biggest beneficiary of our defensive additions, in my opinion. Adding Queen and Elliot is going to make it so that Minkah can fly around and play a little more freely than he has these last few years. It’s easy for us to forget that this guy led the league in interceptions just a few years ago. And, while I think that Cameron Sutton is a giant piece of shit, and he may have a well-deserved suspension coming his way, he would be a nice addition at slot CB for us (insert cringe here).
Anyway, the moral of the story is, I slept on this DeShon Elliot signing, and I think that this is a top five defense in 2024, assuming we stay healthy. Here I go selling myself on Super Bowl aspirations in June again. Being a Steelers fan should be a diagnosable mental illness.
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