Steelers Looking To Take Advantage Of Deep 2023 Cornerback Draft Class With Steal On Day 3

Welcome to the pre-draft season! Leading up to the 2023 NFL Draft starting on April 27th, we will be releasing draft profiles of prospects who could potentially see themselves on the Pittsburgh Steelers. Next up…

Steelers’ Draft Prospect: Darius Rush (Cornerback), South Carolina, Redshirt Senior

OVERVIEW: The Steelers’ cornerback room remains in need of a facelift. In the flurry of free agency moves throughout the offseason, we’ve seen Cam Sutton leave Pittsburgh in favor of the Detroit Lions on a much-deserved pay raise. In turn, the Steelers added former Pro Bowl and future Hall of Fame cornerback Patrick Peterson into the mix for the next two seasons. But with Levi Wallace combined with James Pierre and Ahkello Witherspoon competing for the outside spots, the Steelers need young, developmental talent to continue their construction of a strong cornerback group. In addition, finding the right piece to fit the Steelers’ zone-based defensive scheme is critical in making sure the pick is used wisely. 

If the Steelers somehow miss their guy in the opening round, there is a good chance they’ll be looking on the second day for a big cornerback who thrives in zone coverage. Earlier in the month, they hosted Darius Rush, who fits that exact mold. Let’s get to know more about him.

PROS: Clocking in at 6’2” and weighing just under 200 pounds, Rush is one of the biggest cornerback prospects in this year’s class. With that size, he’s able to contest jump-balls against taller receivers and use his above-average ball skills to high point the ball and make the play. He’s a physical player in the secondary and isn’t afraid to collapse on the line to blow up extended run plays or screen plays on the outside. 

Rush excels in zone coverage. He’s patient in waiting for receivers to make their break before he jumps the route to break up the pass. Rush is an effective role player on defense, meaning he’s a great player to stick in a zone and let him do his thing.

Rush is also incredibly effective on special teams. He was an impressive gunner in college and was a tackling machine in punt coverage. Head Coach Mike Tomlin always values the added versatility of younger prospects and Rush brings exactly that. Not to mention, Rush and Tomlin are fairly similar in their football lives. Rush began his career as a wide receiver and played the position his freshman year in college. But once he moved to the defensive side of the ball, he flourished. That transition allows Rush to match his strides to that of a receiver to anticipate their routes and where they’re running on the field. In addition, in zone coverage, that experience gives Rush the ability to make sure he is buttoned up in his coverage and minimize any throwing windows in the softer spots in the zones.

CONS: Rush’s transition from wide receiver to cornerback also brings some areas of improvement. First, is his hips and fluidity in his motions. Rush’s technique still needs to be polished, as he swings his hips as he follows the receiver across the field. This leaves him to lose sight of the receiver and the added hip motions cause him to slow down and let his man open. Rush’s struggles in keeping his hips smooth and square to the defender and his lack of make-up ability in coverage exposes him in man coverage.

Because he does best within zone coverage, this forces him to play off the receiver, leaving quick passes open to the offense. In addition, Rush’s success is reliant upon safety help over the top. He has trouble maintaining top-level speed, especially on vertical routes, and will get beat on deep go-routes. Further, Rush also seems to struggle in routes with a lot of stopping and going. He’ll need to get coached up on identifying the top of receivers’ routes and not falling for false breaks or curl routes. It will be Rush’s below-average fluidity in his hips and inability to maintain coverage downfield that will diminish his draft stock.

DRAFT PROJECTION: Late Third Round to Early Fourth Round

As we get close to the draft, we are learning more and more about how deep this year’s cornerback class is. There seems to be solid talent at every point in the draft, but as rounds come and go, it’ll come down to teams calling names who would fit best in their scheme. With Rush fitting best within a heavy zone-based defense, this will force him to wait a bit longer than the opening rounds to hear his name called. There is a chance he’s selected later in the third round, but if he is still on the board to begin the third day, he’ll be a fourth-round selection. 

VERDICT: For the Steelers, I think Rush would be a nice fit. He wouldn’t be thrown into the fire and left on an island as a rookie and will have Peterson’s veteran savvy to learn from. His larger, physical presence is one Steelers fans would appreciate and he fits the mold of that prototypical young-but-will-be-good-with-coaching NFL defender. 

Although the Steelers haven’t had the best luck in drafting cornerbacks as of late, the third or fourth round is a nice spot to call a developmental player who can be coached up in technique and not so much how to operate within the schematics of the defense. Rush brings the right traits the Steelers look for in defensive players and his versatility and special teams contributions would be welcomed in Pittsburgh. At the Steelers’ 120th overall selection, I think he’d be a great fit. Not to mention, with the Steelers hosting Rush earlier in April, they may be thinking the same.

Where do you see Rush going in April? Would you want to see him in the black and gold? Let us know in the comments!

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