Steelers Absolutely Traded For A "Quintessential Mike Tomlin Style Player"

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been forced to make all kinds of changes after a disastrous end to the 2024 season and yet another year of being berated about "The Standard." Part of that is Head Coach Mike Tomlin trying to adapt to the modern game with new schemes, but he also needs a bunch of players that can thrive in that type of environment. Particularly on defense, players like Darius Slay, Malik Harrison, and Jalen Ramsey were brought in for that exact reason, and the expectation for the cornerbacks is that they can play up to old form again. 

During an episode of Kaboly + Mack, Chris Mack explained another way that one of those new acquisitions fits perfectly with the Steelers, and it's not entirely about his style of play.

"[Jalen Ramsey] strikes me as a quintessential Mike Tomlin style player," Mack said. "He's going to talk a little bit, but he's going to back it up. He's going to play physical in the secondary. This is the kind of thing you do when you know you have to play [Joe] Burrow / [Ja'Marr] Chase / [Tee] Higgins twice a year, you got to play Lamar [Jackson] twice a year, you're going to have to go through Josh Allen if you want to go anywhere in the playoffs."

Before saying this, Mack and Mark Kaboly both watched a highlight reel of Ramsey and another new acquisition, DK Metcalf, talking smack and getting heated with each other back when they were both in the NFC West as division rivals. Even at 30 years old, there's no question that the former Super Bowl champion can still talk smack and attempt to get under a receiver's skin. The only question is how well he can back that talk up now at this point in his career.

Most people would agree with the fact that Ramsey is on the decline, as he has not been the dominant lockdown player that he was known as early on in his career. If he can't back up his trash talk now, he will likely be a cap casualty in the 2026 offseason. 

Steelers Have Dealt With Ramsey Situation Before

Kaboly even brought up the fact that nobody would want to deal with Ramsey if he can't produce, as his trash talk would become more of a distraction than an actual weapon like it used to be.

"If you're yappin', you better be producin'," Kaboly said.

Of course, this won't be an issue if Ramsey does his job right. It wouldn't be the first time a tactic became a distraction when things turned sour. Throughout the 2020 season, JuJu Smith-Schuster would dance on the midfield logo to help get himself hyped up, whether it was on Pittsburgh's or another team. That year, Pittsburgh started the season 11-0; so many fans had no idea that his dancing was even happening unless they followed him on his socials. 

Once the Steelers started losing, his dances started gaining traction with the national media. He got called out for giving the opponents bulletin board material. Against the lowly Cincinnati Bengals, his dance wasn't the only thing that went viral. He took a hard hit from Von Bell and coughed up the ball, which ended up being an upset loss during yet another massive collapse.

There are plenty of other examples of this playing out in real time for the Steelers. Ramsey has to play well so he isn't just seen as another example of Pittsburgh having lackluster troublemakers running free. If he struggles, the best thing he can do is shut up and learn some new tricks to extend his already-great career. It doesn't matter if you're a quintessential Tomlin style player if the results are not there.

What do you think about Ramsey's style being perfect for Tomlin? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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