One of the big moves for the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency this offseason was the signature of cornerback Darius Slay. Despite preparing for his 13th NFL season, it’s clear that Slay can still play. The goal of today’s article is to see some of the statistical areas that Slay excels last season, and perhaps what he can coach the room and young Joey Porter Jr.
Ideally, it would be a disruptive coverage corner, and Slay was one of the top men at that position last season. Some of that photo are incomplete forced and pass breakups, highlighting Slay and Porter for our purposes.
Slay was clearly the most destructive corner in these terms, with 17 forced incomplete imperfections and 16 pass breakups. Each one is ranked first, two more than any other player in that position. It’s a very impressive feat for a veteran, and a skill set that Pittsburgh must be excited to have won.
In comparison, Porter lands below average, with eight forced incomplete (T-23rd) and five pass breakups (T-31st). This abandoned the wonder that of 47 qualifying rounds with a minimum of 500 coverage snaps, this was a matter of opportunity.
Porter has shown the possibility of becoming a lockdown corner, but his attack led to the league’s smallest penalty of 17 in 2024. Rather than illness, Slay appears to be an ideal leader in the hopes of supporting Porter in his hopeful improvement in this field.
Secondly, I like the possibility of improving Porter coverage disruption on similar charts in 2025.
Another visual highlights Slay’s hopeful impact in 2025. The PFF coverage grade and catch rate are as follows:
Again, the Slay lands comfortably above average for each. His 75.5 coverage grade ranked 12th in 2024, allowing for an even stronger 51.7 catch rate. The latter emphasizes that despite his age, even when Slay didn’t get the ball, he was one of the best corners to shut down the opposition last season.
This was an integral part of Philadelphia’s Super Bowl Run, Mind You and clearly the outcome. Overall, Slay’s addition appears to be underrated by the fan base, with the Steelers banking him by beating his father’s time for at least one season.
On the other side of the coin is a porter, each one again below average. The 56.3 coverage grade ranked 38th (10th), nearly 20 points lower than Slei. The allowed porter caught rate was 67.1, landing in 32nd place, significantly lower than the new mentor.
Given all the key elements of these statistical elements, I like the possibility that Slay is a plus player and coach for Pittsburgh’s porter (and others). It seemed that Slay played the role beautifully on many young people and Championship Eagle steam teams last season.
Do you think the same will happen for Slay and the company in Pittsburgh?
