The Steelers put a lot of Sean Davis’ plate in training camp. The rookie second-round pick was drafted to be the strong safety of the future, but after less than a week of training camp he was asked to perform double duty.
In addition to playing safety, Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler and secondary coach Carnell Lake promoted Davis to starting slot corner in the nickel defense after Senquez Golson went down with a foot injury.
It was a move made out of desperation. Other cornerbacks in camp, including rookie first-round pick Artie Burns, were injured and Davis was the best option despite the Steelers knowing safety was his best position.
Now, after five games of watching Davis in the slot, the Steelers have decided to promote Burns and demote Davis. When the Steelers play the nickel in Miami, Burns will come in as the third cornerback and play on the outside while Will Gay will move into the slot.
Butler said this was a possibility all along, dating to training camp. What delayed the move was Burns’ health. He didn’t play in until the final preseason game against Carolina because of a hamstring injury. Burns isn’t a finished product by any means, but Butler has determined that he’s playing better now than Davis is.
In the end, Davis’ versatility hurt him. Had Golson stayed healthy he might have had a chance to challenge Robert Golden for the starting strong safety job. Now he’s behind the learning curve at that position, and Golden and Jordan Dangerfield, who started twice when Golden was injured, have established themselves as dependable starters.
Butler intimated that Davis was a bit overwhelmed mentally and indicated missing some time with a back injury a week ago got him behind.
“We’re trying to put him in a position where, we don’t want him overloaded with things,” Butler said Thursday. “We’re going to try to play him in a position where he can learn and he can be comfortable playing and the people around him can be comfortable with what he’s doing, too.”
In training camp, Butler said one of the advantages of having Davis play in the slot was the possibilities he provided in the blitz game – a big corner coming off the edge had the potential to provide some big plays. But we never saw much of that during the season.
Butler decided playing coverage, rather than blitzing, was best for the defense as a whole. And perhaps Davis’ knowledge of the defense prevented Butler from dialing up those blitzes.
The good news for Davis is he can now concentrate on playing one position. The bad news is his development at safety was stalled by injury and his versatility.
Onto this week’s picks:
Last week: 8-5
Season record: 41-31
Steelers over Dolphins
Eagles over Redskins
Titans over Browns
Bears over Jaguars
Patriots over Bengals
Bills over 49ers
Giants over Ravens
Lions over Rams
Panthers over Saints
Raiders over Chiefs
Packers over Cowboys
Seahawks over Falcons
Colts over Texans
Cardinals over Jets
First Published: October 14, 2016, 12:13 p.m.
