[tps_title][/tps_title]The Pittsburgh Steelers' secondary have some new additions for this upcoming season. The Steelers signed former Buffalo Bills' cornerback Levi Wallace to a 2-year deal early in the free agency period. The Steelers got the corner on a bargain deal for two years, $8 million. Wallace has a chance to come in and take one of the two starting corner spots, but he has also been playing the nickel spot during Organized Team Activities (OTAs) and Minicamp.
Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback, Levi Wallace(#29) practices at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex during the 2022 Minicamp on Wednesday, June 8, 2022. (Karl Roser/ Pittsburgh Steelers)
The cornerback was listed as the 8th best corner in coverage during the 2021 season in a recent article by NFL.com's Nick Shook.
.@TheNickShook uses @NextGenStats metrics to identify top 10 coverage players of 2021: Cowboys CB on the board ... but it's not Trevon Diggshttps://t.co/4vrnOx89p1 pic.twitter.com/qEInFVjLJn
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) June 10, 2022
Shook said about the corner in his article:
"After earning a new deal with the Steelers in free agency, Wallace lands on this list for a few reasons. His targeted EPA is a strong -15.3, and his tight-window percentage of 27.2 is indicative of a corner who stays very close to the intended target and is ready to make a play."
Shook cited interception numbers as reasoning that the corner isn't higher on his list based on analytics:
"Wallace's 10 passes defensed should come as no surprise, then, and he might have landed higher on this list had he finished with more than two interceptions (on 81 targets)."
Shook would like to see Wallace make more splash plays and create more turnovers and he may be able to do so in the Black and Gold.
"Wallace might not have racked up the gaudiest numbers, but he's frequently in the right position to make a play. He'll end up with a better ranking if he makes more of those plays in Pittsburgh."
Steelers' CB Levi Wallace participates in team training (Karl Roser/ Pittsburgh Steelers)
Wallace will have a chance to make more plays as he's going to get a big opportunity in the Steel City. He's a do it all corner and the Steelers' coaching staff love to see versatility in their guys. He can do it on the outside as well as the inside.
“Football’s football. You’re still covering receivers. I played some inside back in Buffalo too so it’s nothing that is new to me and I accept the challenge.”
“Honestly, I’d never even heard of, like, ‘CB1’ or ‘CB2’ until recently. I thought corners were corners,” Wallace said with a smile, adding that it’s an overblown label. “Absolutely, I think so. I think Tre was obviously one of the best corners that we had, and he honestly was a ‘CB1,’ taking the Number 1 receivers a lot of the time. But when he got hurt last year, I took a lot of them, and I’d guarded them before, too. That stuff doesn’t faze me.”
Buffalo Bills cornerback Levi Wallace celebrates his interception during an NFL game against the New York Jets on Nov. 14, 2021, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun) AP
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