Sep 7, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers safety Juan Thornhill (22) tackles New York Jets tight end Jeremy Ruckert (89) during the second half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Steelers DB Losing Place in Defense

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Steelers on SI
By Ari Meyer | Last updated Sep 27, 2025 4:00 PM ET

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a secondary problem.

Through the first three weeks of the season, the Steelers opponents have been able to gash the Steelers secondary, providing issues for the team when it comes to stopping chunk plays. One of the issues has occured with the safety position, as free safety Juan Thornhill has not performed to expectations. The new addition in the offseason has not performed well this season, and that was likely one of the reasons the team opted to sign Jabrill Peppers as well.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Brian Batko wrote about Thornhill's lack of production and highlighted a chunk play that likely costed him snaps going forward.

"It does seem like Juan Thornhill already has fallen out of favor to some degree," Brian Batko said. "I don't know if it was the miscommunication against the Seahawks on the Tory Horton touchdown that had Teryl Austin cussing up a storm days later or a multitude of factors."

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Thornhill was not in the right place to defend the touchdown by rookie wideout Tory Horton in the Steelers embarassment of a loss in Week 2 to the Seahawks. Thornhill joined the Steelers after being released two years into a three year contract with the Cleveland Browns, meaning the Steelers were already taking a gamble on an underperforming player going into the season.

As of right now, that gamble has not paid off, as Thornhill's few good snaps have not been fruitful enough to outweigh the miscues he has made so far this season.

With Peppers having quite a good game against the New England Patriots, it is possible that Thornhill's snaps continue to decrease as time moves on. Peppers seemed to feel comfortable in the role, which possibly could have been a reflection of him playing against his former team and being familiar with their offense. If it is truly good play coming from Peppers, Thornhill may see very little time on the field with the Steelers unless he proves something in practice that has yet to be seen on the field so far this season.

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Steelers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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