The Pittsburgh Steelers made it abundantly clear to Juan Thornhill what they needed him to do when they signed him in free agency.
“They bring me in to take away that deep ball,” Thornhill said via WTAE on YouTube.
At the time, that probably didn’t make a lot of sense with Minkah Fitzpatrick already holding down that role. But with Fitzpatrick being traded to the Dolphins, Thornhill’s job just became critical to the success of the team.
After four solid years with the Chiefs, Thornhill drew criticism in Cleveland for his lack of production. Much like Fitzpatrick’s dip in production in recent years, Thornhill blames that on the nature of his position.
“Watch my history. A lot of teams don’t really throw the deep ball, if I’m being honest, once I’m a part of that defense,” Thornhill said. “And that’s why I think my production has been down. That’s why a guy like Minkah, they say, struggled a little bit. He didn’t struggle. You just can’t get interceptions if the ball’s not coming your way.”
Dating back to the start of Thornhill’s NFL career in 2019, he has played over two thirds of his snaps as a free safety. These are a lot of the same debates that have surrounded Fitzpatrick for the past few seasons. The issue was they were paying Fitzpatrick top-of-market money to be a playmaker like he was earlier in his career. If they just need someone to keep a lid on the defense, maybe Thornhill can accomplish similar things for much less money.
According to Pro Football Focus, Thornhill allowed 14 receptions on 25 targets for just 127 yards and four touchdowns last season in 11 games played, for what it’s worth.
As Omar Khan explained, they weren’t actively trying to move on from Fitzpatrick as much as they were wanting to land a pair of Pro Bowlers in Jonnu Smith and Jalen Ramsey. Fitzpatrick was just the cost of doing business. But maybe they were comfortable doing so knowing that they had another player capable of taking away the deep ball.
Thornhill is probably the biggest question mark of the 11 projected starters on defense. If he can keep a lid on the defense, the Steelers’ recent trade will look even better.
