With their third round pick (#95 overall) the Pittsburgh Steelers finally addressed the one position that Steelers Nation had been clamoring for since Super Bowl XLV – cornerback. The pick was Curtis Brown, a cornerback out of Texas and teammate of the man many mock drafts had the team selecting – Aaron Williams.
Curtis Brown might have not been as hyped as his Longhorns teammate, but he’s certainly a very good football player, and a welcome addition to a battered and bruised secondary unit. A converted wide receiver, Brown has hands that make Ike Taylor ashamed.
I’ll let that sink in for a moment – Pittsburgh has a corner who excels at catching the football. Previously in the secondary the only player that could be relied upon to make plays on the ball and create turnovers in the form of an interception was Troy Polamalu.
Being a former wide receiver, Brown is familiar with all the tricks of the wide receiver trade – all the double moves, head fakes, etc. Those likely aren’t going to fool them, because well, he used to try the same things against defensive backs and he knows what to look for.
Brown has good speed and his hips are flexible enough for him to flip them quickly to run with wide receivers at the pro level. Certainly not the biggest guy on the field, but is about the same size as the majority of the Steelers receivers and should be able to contribute immediately by taking on the nickel back position after a training camp/pre-season battle with incumbent starter William Gay.
Something the Steelers are always concerned about when selecting defensive backs is whether or not they are willing to stick their nose in the running game, and true to the standard of the Steelers defense, Brown will have no issue throwing himself into the fray on that accord.
He tends to throw his shoulder into running Cabacks when coming up to make the stop, but forgoes wrapping them up, which could lead to extended plays, that’s a very coachable thing, and something that Steelers secondary coach Carnell Lake and defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau will likely work with him on.
He isn’t the strongest man on the field, and could find himself getting held up by receivers blocking down field. He might not always be able to get off of those blocks, but he will absolutely give his all in attempting to shed it.
Beyond that, he is a very smart player, forcing plays to the inside of the field and not surrendering the corner to quicker backs and receivers, instead making them run headfirst into the linebackers, who as you’ve heard before at Steelers Chronicle are some of the best in the business at what they do.
As I said previously, Brown will at the very least be given a chance to make an immediate impact at the nickel spot, but will have to take it away from Gay, and he absolutely must be ready to face some of the best quarterbacks in the game, as the Steelers will see two NFL MVP’s at the position during the course of the regular season in Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts and Tom Brady of the New England Patriots – both of whom love to pick on rookie corners.
And, as a final tip of the hat to K Train at Steeler Addicts, he predicted Brown to the Steelers as well as the previous two picks in his ‘Perfect Steelers Mock‘. He certainly did an amazing job on that, and deserves at the very least a beer if you ever meet him.
Steelers Chronicle will be breaking down and looking at all of the Pittsburgh Steelers 2011 Draft selections, and you can view the previous entries in the series below.
Cameron Heyward | DE | Ohio State – Round One, Pick 31
Marcus Gilbert | OT | Florida – Round Two, Pick 63
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