Month: April 2025

In this week’s Read & React, Ryan and Ryland discuss if the Steelers’ top UDFA of 2024 can earn a starting job once again in the upcoming season. Also: thoughts on the 2025 quarterback class.

The 2025 NFL Draft is less than a month away, and while there’s still plenty to discuss regarding the hundreds of potential Steelers ready to join the pros, Read & React will be starting this column with a new segment that looks back at Pittsburgh’s 2024 season:

Steelers in review: CB Beanie Bishop Jr.

Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images

Welcome to R&R’s newest segment: Steelers in Review. The need to keep an accurate view of last season can get lost in the news cycle of free agency and the draft. As a result, we’ll be looking at one Steeler’s 2024 season in each segment, noting where they succeeded, where they struggled, and what they’ll bring to the roster in 2024. This week, we’ll be looking at slot cornerback Beanie Bishop Jr.’s rookie year:

RB: Let’s start off by reviewing some of the expectations surrounding Bishop ahead of his rookie year. As an undrafted free agent, he started off as a popular name in the Redman Award debate but opinions were split on if he’d be just a bottom-of-the-roster folk hero or an actual contender for a starting job on defense.

Then two things happened over the course of the preseason: The Steelers never added another possible starter at slot corner despite Cam Sutton’s looming eight-game suspension and Grayland Arnold’s injury, but despite the wide-open opportunity, Bishop never ran away with the job.

I didn’t bother reviewing those preseason games for this article, but here’s my blurb on Bishop from the Redman Award voting article back in August:

The Redman Award frontrunner throughout most of the summer, Bishop beat the odds as an undersized, undrafted free agent to win the Steelers’ nickel cornerback battle. A scrappy defender who provided some highlight-worthy plays in training camp, an injury and a quiet preseason resulted in a hit to the rookie’s winning chances.

Bishop, of course, ended up making the Steelers’ 53-man roster and sticking there all year. The lone remaining challenger for the slot job, Thomas Graham Jr., was relegated to the practice squad and later released. Bishop started in the slot until his role was reduced by the return of Cam Sutton in Week 10 of the regular season.

In a nutshell, Bishop’s 2025 started off with some busts in coverage Week 1, peaked with a two-interception game against Aaron Rodgers in Week 7, and then slowly faded with the return of Sutton. That loss of playing time late in the season makes Bishop’s future a bit murky with the Steelers, with head coach Mike Tomlin praising the UDFA’s efforts at the NFL owners’ meeting, but saying he’ll have to re-earn the job in 2025.

With the background out of the way, we’ll turn to an evaluation of Bishop’s on-field performance. How did the Steelers use Bishop in 2024?

RP: There wasn’t a ton of variety to Bishop’s usage, and likely for good reason. When the Steelers had him out there prior to Sutton’s return, it was almost exclusively as a nickel/slot corner. PFF’s charting occasionally credited him with some reps at safety based on where he lined up, but his role was mostly consistent.

Watching Bishop’s 2024 tape, I didn’t come away thinking Bishop was a bad corner, but there was certainly tons of room for improvement. Bishop was an undrafted free agent due to his size and questions about his play speed. These show up on his lowlights reel. Too often he was just a beat late on a read, and on these plays he would struggle to recover.

Right now, Bishop is much better in zone than he is in man. Let’s start with some positives before we pile on the negatives. Watching Bishop, his instincts in zone appear much more comfortable than in man. That isn’t to say he doesn’t have problematic moments of hesitation in zone as well, but overall, he looks more confident. Ryland mentioned Bishop’s two-interception game against the Jets, and during the first interception, you can see him lure Rodgers into the throw before quickly flipping his hips and making the play.

Unfortunately, Bishop was much less comfortable in man coverage. In the first clip below, Bishop never even gets into his backpedal before KaVontae Turpin is behind him and tearing down the seam for a big gain. In the second play, the ball actually goes to the other side of the field, but watch Bishop at the bottom of the screen. Prior to the snap, he’s still getting corrections from Joey Porter Jr. The Cowboys deploy Turpin out of the backfield, this time running a wheel route. Bishop bites on the flat and gets torched deep.

Dallas also tried to bully Bishop due to his size. The Cowboys clearly keyed on the Steelers defense having issues with communication, especially on plays involving motion, and they looked to scheme Bishop out of the play on several occasions.

On the first play below, the Cowboys once again have Turpin in motion. They start to motion him left but he turns back around and sprints into a flat route at the snap. Bishop, who had been trailing Turpin, runs into linebacker Patrick Queen who was dropping into his zone, creating more of a mess and putting Bishop in an impossible position. Bishop gets on his horse to make it to the sideline, but he can’t get there before the first down is picked up, and then makes matters worse with a facemask penalty.

The second clip above is a team effort. The Cowboys stack two receivers and a tight end to the right. Bishop, for his part, covers his man well, but there is some miscommunication from the Steelers on how to handle the two other targets. Both Donte Jackson and Queen end up following Jalen Tolbert on the drag route and no one picks up tight end Jake Ferguson. Where the play goes from bad to worse is Bishop is so locked in on CeeDee Lamb — which, understable — that he doesn’t notice Ferguson has made the catch. He actually looks over his shoulder back towards the middle of the field as Ferguson gallops past him. Tough look.

In the third clip, we have the game-deciding play. While I can’t definitely say what the assignments on this play are, I think Bishop is one of a handful of players who could be at fault. The Cowboys are running a crossing routes concept, trying to create a natural rub to spring one of their guys open. On this play, Bishop trails Ceedee Lamb while DeShon Elliott trails Jalen Tolbert. I believe they are running a zone concept, perhaps a hybrid, because while the Steelers have players trailing players in the middle of the field, Jackson at the top of the screen doesn’t follow anyone in particular.

The play was a mess and hard to tell, but I think Bishop is intended to pass off Lamb once he reaches the midpoint of the field, especially with Minkah Fitzpatrick also hounding Lamb on the play. However, Bishop sticks with him a step too long. Tolbert uses Fitzpatrick and Lamb to create a barrier on the trailing DeShon Elliott — who navigates it about as well as can be expected in that situation — and creates just enough separation to make the winning catch. By the time Bishop notices what’s going on, he’s not in a position to make a play and then starts to run towards the backfield for a moment. Steelers lose the game.

That’s all pretty rough. I chose the Dallas game to highlight some of Bishop’s weaknesses. Of the games where he played at least 30 snaps in coverage, the Dallas game was his second lowest-graded game, according to PFF. I didn’t use his worst game, against Denver, because that game came in Week 2 and that feels unfair to a rookie with Bishop’s background. Still, it highlights why Tomlin and Teryl Austin didn’t have many reservations about reducing his role, even with Sutton playing so poorly.

What did you notice in Bishop’s tackling, Ryland? And do you think Bishop has a long-term future with the Steelers? Or have we already seen his best ball?

RB: I watched the entire second half of Bishop’s season for this article and can vouch for what’s in Ryan’s scouting report above. Bishop’s play speed and reaction time in coverage are still a major work in progress, with the rookie struggling in those areas throughout the entire season.

I will add one thing: Bishop ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash at the Big 12 pro day, the fastest of any player there. His RAS shows “elite” speed and “good” agility — so the tools are all there to keep up with NFL receivers. Game speed is obviously vastly different from running in a straight line, but I think as the game slows down for Bishop as he gains experience, we will see some improvements from him in coverage.

As Ryan alluded to in the clip of the interception against Aaron Rodgers, Bishop has flashes of elite hip mobility. I noticed that in another clip, a great pass defensed against the Browns in Week 12. He has an impressive ability to rapidly turn the direction he’s facing to make a play on the ball.

If Bishop can continue to improve his comfort in the Steelers’ scheme, there’s a brighter future ahead in coverage with the tools he has.

But what about Bishop as a tackler? I’d say that was a more consistently strong aspect of his game despite his size. Bishop is small — only 5’9, 182 pounds on the Steelers website — but he consistently showed in 2024 that it doesn’t hinder him much when it comes to bringing down defenders.

Bishop’s first real highlight of the season showed exactly that. With less than a minute left against the Falcons and maintaining a one-score lead in the fourth quarter, he brought down Ray-Ray McCloud in bounds to run the clock down to 13 seconds. The Falcons hurried to the line, spiked the ball, and then T.J. Watt called game on the next play.

While McCloud isn’t exactly a big receiver, you can see what makes Bishop an effective tackler: He generally goes for the legs to avoid bouncing off the ball-carrier. The effort to keep McCloud in bounds also shouldn’t go unnoticed, either.

I didn’t see many missed tackles from Bishop in 2024, even if he did occasionally get dragged around a bit before bringing the ball-carrier to the ground. Per PFF, he had a 7.7% missed tackle rate, which ranked slightly above-average among his teammates and better than several high-level starters.

One thing I remember highlighting back when Bishop first joined the Steelers was his drive on the ball. That was evident in his tackling, with Bishop seeing a lot of success coming downhill.

I especially like the first clip below, where you can see Bishop (lined up at the top of the screen in the slot, with a sizable cushion) work through traffic to make the stop. That’s a skill of his that also translates to special teams, further helping his value to the team.

The most impressive aspect of Bishop’s tackling was his work against receiver screens. You’d (reasonably) assume that at his size he’s going to struggle greatly against blockers, but in many cases he found a way to power through them. His tenacity as a tackler is definitely something that’s carried over from his time at West Virginia.

I’ll also highlight some of Bishop’s work blitzing from the slot. He’s not Mike Hilton, but his speed off the edge did wreck some plays (even helping cause the interception in the second clip). I included the last clip because I was a little surprised to see Bishop move the left guard back as far as he did on the rush.

Bishop’s game as a tackler isn’t all perfect, though. I included the two worst misses I saw of his below:

The first clip isn’t overly worrying even if the angle is subpar, but the second is a painful watch. Ultimately, it circles back to some of Ryan’s points about Bishop looking more comfortable in zone coverage where he can see the play unfold in front of him.

He lacked the instincts, awareness, and confidence his rookie year to quickly process and react on defense. As a result, Bishop still had some highlight-worthy plays, but he consistently played slower and more unsure than he’s capable of.

With that in mind, I don’t think we’ve seen Bishop’s best ball yet. Going from a West Virginia UDFA to starting in the NFL Week 1 is a massive change. With a full season and offseason under his belt in the pros, I think Bishop can definitely challenge for the starting spot again and have a much-improved sophomore campaign.

However, he certainly wasn’t good enough in 2024 to lock himself into that role. Brandin Echols was an offseason signing I liked at cornerback who Tomlin mentioned will be gunning for that starting spot as well. I think that competition will be a tough one as Echols brings more polish and experience as a cover corner even if he played most recently on the boundary.

And although the Steelers haven’t shown much interest in the position during the draft process, I wouldn’t rule out the team adding another contender for the slot battle there, either.

At the moment, the Steelers’ starting nickel role is Bishop’s to lose, but it’s anything but a guarantee. With some possible improvements from his rookie year, I think he can develop into a solid starter. At the very least, his 2024 showed some great highlights and a solid performance as a tackler that make him a worthwhile depth piece to keep on the roster.

When should the Steelers target a quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft? And would an Aaron Rodgers signing affect that?

Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images

RP: While I don’t think Aaron Rodgers should have any bearing on whether or not the Steelers draft a quarterback — he’ll turn 42 in December for crying out loud — I would strongly advise them against drafting a quarterback in the first round this year.

Our readers need no reminder that the Steelers forced a quarterback pick in 2022 when they selected Kenny Pickett at 20th overall. Whether you think Pickett was given a fair shake in Pittsburgh or not, it doesn’t change that intel from the draft community indicated he was a player that was incredibly overdrafted. Many teams, if not most, reportedly had Day 2 grades on him at best. It’s hard to come to any other conclusion than the Steelers misread QB market, or worse, didn’t care. Not only were no other quarterbacks selected until the third round, but the player that was reportedly the second-best prospect — Malik Willis — ended up as the third quarterback off the board.

Personally, I would take Jaxson Dart, Jalen Milroe or Tyler Shough over Kenny Pickett, but I wouldn’t take any of them in the first round. There are just too many question marks in each of their games, especially with the Steelers’ recent history with developing a quarterback being less than stellar.

I don’t love the idea of taking a quarterback in the third round this year, but I can at least understand it. The Steelers have plenty of holes on the roster, but they aren’t nearly as bad as our comment section would have you believe. This was still a playoff team, and there are still good players on this roster.

Sure, I’d argue shoring up the secondary, the interior line on either side of the ball, or filling out the receiver room might be a better use of resources. But if the Steelers get enamored with one of Dart, Shough, or Milroe, and they’re still available in the third round — or the Steelers swing a trade to get into the second round — I’d be OK with them sitting a rookie behind Rodgers for a year.

But if Rudolph ends up being the starter, and they spend the pick on a quarterback, I’d want to see the rookie before the year is over. I know Tomlin is adverse to change, but in this scenario it would be criminal not to find out what you have before the 2026 class rolls around.

I’m also OK if the Steelers would rather use a Day 3 pick. Kyle McCord has been my deep sleeper in this QB class and I’d be willing to take a swing starting in Round 5. I know some fans here think a Day 3 QB is a wasted pick — I used to have the same opinion — but I’ve warmed to the idea. Most Day 3 picks are lucky to ever make a roster. Look up the Steelers’ draft picks in Round 5 or later in recent years and tell me how many of those players would be worth hanging onto over the chance at finding your QB. Is it likely they find him? No. But it’s also not likely the Steelers will miss out on any All-Pros either.

RB: I think we’re in complete agreement here. Aaron Rodgers at 41 years old shouldn’t make much of difference regarding whether the Steelers do or don’t draft a quarterback, outside of whether or not we get some Skylar Thompson “lol that’s Mason Rudolph’s replacement not minds take it how you want to I am back” memes after the rookie is drafted.

But to play devil’s advocate, the Rodgers signing would indicate the Steelers are still hanging onto some sort of “win now” philosophy, meaning the team may not want to spend one of their two remaining picks on Days 1-2 on a player who ideally will be sitting on the bench for most of the season. So if the team signs Rodgers, I’d guess the odds of Pittsburgh drafting a quarterback late will be slightly higher.

And even if the team does pass on Rodgers, I still have a hard time seeing a quarterback in the first three rounds being a good pick in this weak class. There won’t be good value where the Steelers pick in the first — Jaxson Dart just doesn’t have enough standout traits to be picked that early, in my opinion — while Jalen Milroe and Tyler Shough would be defendable options in the third, but each come with massive red flags. Milroe is an elite athlete but still an extremely underdeveloped passer, while Shough has a fun, polished game, but only one good season across seven (yes, seven) years of college football — and three major injuries over that span.

They’re each fun prospects who I wouldn’t hate at No. 83, but I have a hard time believing they’ll be the best available in a surprisingly deep first two days of the draft at other positions.

But Day 3? I hope the Steelers grab a flier at quarterback there regardless of whether Rodgers happens or not. 2026 might be the year the Steelers make a big push for the franchise guy, but taking a dart throw a year early doesn’t hurt, especially given Ryan’s point about how most Day 3 picks don’t pan out anyway.

A late-round name I’ve been a fan of lately is Indiana’s Kurtis Rourke, who doesn’t exactly scream upside, but has a good floor as a highly efficient pocket passer who excelled in the middle of the field in 2024. He also toughed it through a partially-torn ACL all year, which is ridiculously impressive. Maybe he’s a starter someday, but at the very least you’re getting a competent backup on a cheap, four-year deal. I like Ohio State’s Will Howard too, but I’m not sure how far he’ll drop.

Join in on Steelers R&R by sharing your takes on this week’s topics. What are your thoughts on Beanie Bishop Jr.? When should the Steelers draft a quarterback in 2025? Let us know in the comments! Feel free to pitch future questions in the comment section or on Twitter/X: tag @_Ryland_B or @RyanParishMedia.