While most of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ position battles are starting to clear up, the battle for the cornerback position – both the outside and slot positions – is still wide open. CB Thomas Graham Jr. joined the team in January when he signed a futures contract and has emerged as a real candidate for the 53-man roster over the course of training camp.
He has made a number of great plays throughout training camp and is the best defensive player with two interceptions in practice. His ball skills have caught the attention of defensive coordinator Teryl Austin.
“I think what you see from TG (Thomas Graham Jr.) is he makes some plays,” Austin said in a transcript provided by the team after practice Sunday. “You see him around the football. All of a sudden there’s a nice interception and it’s TG. There’s a nice play, a guy gets tackled for a loss and comes up as a blitzer. And so he’s shown some versatility and the ability to get around the ball.”
“We need guys that are able to make plays, make tackles for losses, force turnovers, all those different things. And he’s shown he’s capable of doing that.”
Graham entered the league as a sixth-round pick by the Chicago Bears in the 2021 NFL Draft. He was traded to their practice squad and activated for a few games as a game-day supplement. The Cleveland Browns signed him from the Bears’ practice squad at the start of the 2022 season and he appeared in seven games for them. He was eventually released/injured during the 2023 season.
In 11 career games, he recorded 19 total tackles, 11 solo tackles, one tackle for loss and four passes defensed. The playmaking skills that were evident throughout training camp were not on display in those 11 games.
But Graham is on a new team and has a new opportunity ahead of him. Considering his biggest competition right now is undrafted rookie Beanie Bishop Jr., that’s a pretty big opportunity. Bishop has played well in camp and was listed as a starter in the first roster last week, but Mike Tomlin has repeatedly warned the media not to overanalyze Bishop’s starting lineups in camp.
Austin said Sunday that Bishop is in the running for the starting position, but the job isn’t yet filled. Graham has a chance to take the starting position from Bishop. Just today, he made another nice pass breakup on a long throw down the sideline. If he can continue to show those ball skills and demonstrate his ability to stop the run, he’ll be in the running for the starting corner spot along with Bishop and Grayland Arnold.
