The wheeling-and-dealing Pittsburgh Steelers have done it again, completing the long-rumored trade for Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey on Monday morning. It was a move that had long been bubbling under the surface, but now the former All-Pro is heading to the Steel City. However, to get the deal done, the Steelers also had to send another All-Pro back to Miami, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, giving us a rare player-for-player swap in the NFL.
Pittsburgh has been aggressive in reshaping their depth chart on both sides of the ball throughout the offseason. Aaron Rodgers seemed like it might be the final piece of the puzzle after he signed, but this is a team that's also already traded for DK Metcalf and signed veteran cornerback Darius Slay. With Rodgers indicating that this will be his final NFL season and his lone campaign in Pittsburgh, the Steelers are leaving no stone unturned to make a Super Bowl run. Ramsey is clearly part of that equation.
Having said that, swapping out Ramsey for an elite safety in Fitzpatrick means that the shift for the Steelers personnel is now going to be quite drastic. So let's take a look at the Steelers depth chart, first in the CB room, and then for the defense as a whole to see where this trade leaves them.
Steelers CB depth chart with Jalen Ramsey
Outside Cornerback | Outside Cornerback | Nickel |
|---|---|---|
1. Darius Slay | 1. Joey Porter Jr. | 1. Jalen Ramsey |
2. Cory Trice Jr. | 2. James Pierre | 2. Beanie Bishop Jr. |
3. Brandin Echols |
Particularly since Fitzpatrick was sent out in the deal, you do have to wonder if the Steelers will rotate Ramsey around the defense. Specifically, it could make some sense for the veteran to see time in Fitzpatrick's role at free safety. That could be something. However, just looking at him as a cornerback, he feels like the most natural starter in the slot or nickel position given his versatility, something that I would argue that both Slay and Joey Porter Jr. don't have quite as much of in their arsenal.
At the same time, though, adding Ramsey on the whole gives this Steelers defense exponentially more versatility. The former All-Pro is a chess piece that can slot in multiple roles at a high level and drastically improves the depth in the secondary, particularly at cornerback where this team was one injury away from being in an awful spot.
Steelers depth chart on defense after adding Jalen Ramsey, losing Minkah Fitzpatrick
Position | Starter | Backup |
|---|---|---|
CB1 | Darius Slay | Cory Trice Jr. |
CB2 | Joey Porter Jr. | James Pierre |
Nickel | Jalen Ramsey | Beanie Bishop Jr. |
FS | Juan Thornhill | Jalen Ramsey |
SS | DeShon Elliott | Sebastian Castro |
LOLB | T.J. Watt | Nick Herbig |
ILB | Patrick Queen | Malik Harrison |
ILB | Payton Wilson | Cole Holcomb |
ROLB | Alex Highsmith | Jack Sawyer |
DE | Derrick Harmon | Isaiahh Loudermilk |
NT | Keeanu Benton | Yahya Black |
DT | Cam Heyward | Dean Lowry |
Though the contract status of T.J. Watt is probably the last thing the Steelers will need to sort out, you can see that the strength of the roster in Pittsburgh remains on defense. Ramsey is, in fact, listed on this projected depth chart twice, both as the starting nickel and backup free safety. Part of that is not knowing in the immediate aftermath what the plan is from Mike Tomlin and Co., but the other part is why you trade for a player like Ramsey, because he offers immense versatility.
That safety room looks much different without Fitzpatrick, to be sure, but the offseason addition of Juan Thornhill now looks crucial to the success on this side of the ball, even if he is a slight downgrade from his predecessor. That's also something that the strong offseason thus far from UDFA Sebastian Castro could factor into if he's continues his good work in training camp and makes his way up the depth chart as another depth piece.