The Pittsburgh Steelers have been a much more aggressive franchise since Omar Khan took over as the team's general manager. It's still early, but it looks like Khan has drafted well and made solid signings and trades in his first two offseasons. Khan has been very aggressive in his revamp of the Pittsburgh offense and he also went out and got some valuable pieces for the defensive side of the ball. Cornerback is arguably the Steelers' most thin position group heading into the 2024 season and as the season inches closer, the more likely it is that there won't be any new additions to the cornerback room.
The Steelers Could Look to Bolster The Cornerback Room In The 2025 Draft
There is certainly hope that the Steelers' cornerback room can come together and play well this upcoming season, but on paper, Pittsburgh's cornerback room is weak and doesn't have much depth. Joey Porter Jr. showed in his rookie season that he can be a very good player in the Steel City for years to come.
Veteran cornerbacks Donte Jackson and Cameron Sutton have shown flashes of being good players throughout their careers, but have lacked consistency. Both Jackson and Sutton will hit free agency in 2025. They can be re-signed by Pittsburgh, but it doesn't appear that either of them are the long-term answer to pair with Porter Jr. at cornerback. Looking forward to the 2025 offseason, there are a few positions that Khan could address in the early rounds of the draft.
If the Steelers' new quarterback additions Russell Wilson and Justin Fields don't pan out, the team could draft a quarterback. A wide receiver to pair with George Pickens won't be out of the question either, but cornerback seems like the big glaring need.
In a way too early 2025 mock draft done by The 33rd Team, the Steelers were projected to select cornerback Travis Hunter out of Colorado. The Steelers were given the 14th pick in this mock draft, meaning the Steelers wouldn't make the playoffs in this scenario. While we hope that's not the case, picking up one of the best athletes in college football definitely helps the Steelers defense.
"The Pittsburgh Steelers will be smitten with Hunter's tough-nosed mindset, and he'll fill a huge need across from Joey Porter Jr."
Hunter is a two-way player at the collegiate level where he plays cornerback and wide receiver, but he'll more than likely stick to the defensive side of the ball in the NFL. Hunter was the number one high school player in the country his senior year in 2021. Hunter has met expectations so far in college as a two-way player and will more than likely be selected in the early-mid first round in 2025.
Hunter notoriously signed with Jackson State out of high school. An HBCU that was coached by Deion Sanders at the time. Hunter then followed Sanders to Colorado where the NFL legend was named the head coach of the Buffaloes. Sanders has been extremely controversial in the college football world. He talks a big game and didn't exactly back it up in his first season in Boulder where his team went 4-8.
Sanders' son Shedeur Sanders is the team's quarterback and will more than likely be selected in the 2025 draft along with Hunter. Deion Sanders said that his son and Hunter will both go in the top four in the draft and one of them will go number one. The Buffaloes head coach also stated that there are certain teams that Hunter and Shedeur Sanders will not play for. It's hard to say which teams those are and if that will actually end up mattering, but we'll see.
The Steelers might not want to get in the middle of the Deion Sanders drama, but Hunter is an electric cornerback that could keep the Pittsburgh defense as one of the league's best for years to come.
