The Pittsburgh Steelers have enough defensive backs to create packages that look different from the traditional personnel groups they leaned on in recent seasons. Jalen Ramsey could become the key to one of the most creative options. Instead of using him only as a deep safety or slot defender, Pittsburgh could move him into the middle of the defense as a dime linebacker while Brandin Echols enters as an extra defensive back and potential blitzer.
Alysa Rubin / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers DB Brandin Echols.
The idea would give new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham a way to remove a linebacker from difficult passing-down assignments without making the defense smaller in every important area. Ramsey is listed at 6-foot-1 and 211 pounds. He has the size, physicality and tackling background to operate closer to the line of scrimmage while still giving Pittsburgh more coverage flexibility than it would have with a traditional linebacker in the same space.
Ramsey already showed how valuable his versatility could become during his first season with Pittsburgh. He started all 17 games, finished third on the team with 88 tackles and added 3 sacks, 8 passes defensed and an interception. His responsibilities changed as injuries hit the secondary, and the Steelers eventually moved him into a full-time safety role for an extended stretch.
The shift did more than fill an opening. It showed that Ramsey could process the game from a different level, tackle in space and create pressure when Pittsburgh brought him toward the line.
Echols also gave Pittsburgh evidence that he can handle more than a reserve cornerback role. He recorded 48 tackles, 2 interceptions, 6 passes defensed and a sack in 2025. When the Steelers moved Ramsey to safety against the Indianapolis Colts, Echols stepped into a larger slot role and delivered pressure on a well-timed blitz that forced an incompletion.
Ramsey would not have to carry every slot responsibility himself, and Echols would not be limited to dropping into coverage on every snap. Graham could present both players near the line, then decide which one attacks and which one handles the underneath coverage.
Derrik Klassen outlined the possibility during a recent breakdown. He believes Pittsburgh could use Ramsey in the middle while Echols enters as the sixth defensive back and threatens the offense from the slot.
“If you want to play a little bit more dime on later downs or in certain situations and get those linebackers off the field in coverage situations and have Brandin Echols as, like, a viable blitzer in that role, I actually do think that’s a fun version of these players in this defense,” Klassen said.
The value would begin with the matchup problem. Obvious passing situations often force defenses to decide whether they trust a linebacker to carry a running back, tight end or crossing route through space. Pittsburgh has athletic options at linebacker, but offenses will continue trying to isolate that position whenever possible.
Ramsey changes the answer. He can match a tight end, close on a checkdown or sit in the middle as a robber without giving up the physical presence needed to tackle after the catch. If the offense keeps a running back in protection, he can also become part of the pressure plan.
Echols would add another layer. His alignment could suggest man coverage, a slot blitz or a rotation that sends Ramsey elsewhere after the snap. The quarterback would have to identify which defensive back is entering the rush while also accounting for Pittsburgh’s edge pressure.
The Steelers have already explored a "positionless" Ramsey plan for 2026. Graham’s scheme is expected to demand versatility, disguise and communication. A dime package built around Ramsey and Echols would place those ideas into one personnel group without requiring constant substitutions.
It could also help the pass rush. TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith attract protection attention before the snap. Adding a defensive back from the slot can force the offensive line and running back to sort through another threat. Even when Echols does not blitz, his positioning can influence the protection and create cleaner one-on-one opportunities elsewhere.
Lucy Schaly / Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Steelers edge rushers TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith.
The package would not replace Pittsburgh’s normal defense. It would be a situational answer for third-and-medium, third-and-long and late-game moments when the opponent is clearly trying to throw. Graham would still need to protect against draws, screens and quarterback runs, which are common counters when defenses remove heavier personnel.
Ramsey’s presence makes that tradeoff easier. He is not a small coverage specialist being asked to survive in the box. He has spent his career playing with an aggressive edge, and his 2025 move to safety showed he is willing to tackle from depth and attack downhill.
Steelers Can Make Their Secondary Control Passing Downs
Pittsburgh’s depth at defensive back creates options, but the value will come from using those players together rather than treating every position as fixed. Ramsey can play safety, slot corner and a linebacker-like role. Echols can cover, tackle and enter the pressure package. Graham must turn those overlapping skills into confusion for the offense.
The strongest version of the package would not reveal the plan before the snap. Ramsey could begin in the box and rotate deep. Echols could show pressure before dropping underneath. A safety could spin toward the middle while one of the edge rushers falls into a short zone. The same alignment could produce several different answers.
Execution will decide whether the idea becomes more than a training camp wrinkle. Ramsey must communicate with the safeties behind him, while Echols has to time his pressure without exposing the slot. One missed assignment in dime personnel can create an easy completion because fewer traditional linebackers are available to clean up the mistake.
Pittsburgh has the experience to attempt it. Ramsey has played nearly every secondary role, and Echols became a reliable contributor during his first year with the team. Graham was hired to build a defense that adjusts to its personnel instead of forcing every player into one narrow job.
Klassen’s proposal gives the Steelers a clear way to use two versatile defensive backs at once. Ramsey can protect the middle without becoming a coverage liability, while Echols can test protections from the slot. On obvious passing downs, that combination could help Pittsburgh remove a weakness and add another threat without changing the identity of its defense.
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