The Pittsburgh Steelers entered the season buzzing about their secondary. Mike Tomlin couldn’t help but proclaim that group could match up with anybody in the league. Yet through two months, they’ve largely avoided using six defensive backs in dime personnel.
Why? Because they believe in ILB Payton Wilson’s coverage abilities.
“I think part of it is Payton Wilson gives us an opportunity in terms of being able to play nickel ’cause he’s fast enough to cover tight ends,” DC Teryl Austin said Thursday via TribLive’s Chris Adamski on X. “He’s athletic enough to do all those things and gives us, obviously if we want to blitz, he gives us a bigger body in terms of blitzing and how we’re doing things that way.