While some undrafted players beat the odds and are able to play in the NFL and some have even made it to the Hall of Fame, the truth is that most don’t even stick around long enough to make the 53-man roster. Unfortunately for the Pittsburgh Steelers, undrafted free agent Beanie Bishop is starting to show why he went undrafted. While thrust into the starting slot cornerback role, with a passer rating allowed of 108.3 when targeted (according to NFL Pro), he’s become a prime target for opposing offenses looking to exploit weaknesses in the Steelers’ defense.

Beanie has been getting the attention of opposing quarterbacks more and more each week and seems lost at crucial moments. A perfect example was this past Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys, where he was out in the open field and completely unaware that the ball carrier was literally running right behind him. That kind of confusion and lack of awareness can be a killer, especially in tight games. Now that kind of play can happen to anybody, but its less forgiving when its made by a player who hasn’t proven himself to be more of an asset as of yet.

After the game on Sunday, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick spoke about the secondary’s struggles, saying, “1st half there were miscommunications, there were a couple times we were playing check ball (where defensive players adjust their coverage based on the offensive formation or motion) and a couple guys were playing different things, you know people just not in the right spots…” Minkah pointed out how challenging it can be when you have new and inexperienced players in the secondary. He didn’t call out Beanie directly, but it’s hard to ignore that Bishop has had some rough moments when it comes to coverage and assignments, and this was not the first game. In Week 1 it seemed as if he may have been directly involved in giving up a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons and possibly another in week 4 against the Indianapolis Colts.

I don’t think Beanie Bishop is a bad player, he is young and shouldn’t be starting at this point in his career. With that being said I can’t wait to see Cam Sutton back in the starting lineup. Having a veteran who has proven to play above the line consistently in the NFL and knows the Pittsburgh defensive scheme can really help fix these communication breakdowns. It’s all about finding that stability in the secondary. For now, we hope Beanie can step up and improve, but the team definitely needs more consistent production at the slot corner position to be the type of secondary they strive to be.

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