The Pittsburgh Steelers appear to have hit on another defensive addition in 2024.
On September 21, Bleacher Report analyst David Kenyon credited the Steelers front office with one of the top six free agent “steals” through the first two weeks of the NFL season — bringing attention to an underrated signing this spring.
“You’re not going to believe this, but Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers have unlocked the upside of a defensive player,” Kenyon began, joking sarcastically that this is a “shocking” development.
“Most recently with the Miami Dolphins, safety DeShon Elliott is plenty experienced with three 80-tackle seasons,” the writer went on. “Pittsburgh has taken his versatility and deployed Elliott in a very effective manner. While allowing a single eight-yard reception on six targets, he’s made 13 tackles and snagged an interception [so far in 2024].”
Kenyon also called Elliott the “ideal complement” for fellow Steelers safety and playmaker Minkah Fitzpatrick. Per Kenyon, his dependability allows Fitzpatrick to “roam freely on the back end of the defense.”
Elliott only cost Pittsburgh $6 million over two years, with just $1.5 million guaranteed. At that value, he’s been an absolute gem of a free agent acquisition for Tomlin and Steelers general manager Omar Khan.
Steelers’ DeShon Elliott Enters Week 3 With Top 5 NFL Safety Grade
Pro Football Focus would agree with Kenyon’s praise, considering they have Elliott graded as a top five NFL safety through two weeks (minimum 20% snap share).
According to the grading site, Elliott has been extremely consistent in the three major areas of his position — run defense, pass coverage and tackling. He’s received marks above 80.0 for each, with his best grade coming in pass coverage (87.1). The combined performance has yielded a near-elite 88.7 rating overall.
Diving deeper, Elliott has yet to miss a tackle or allow a touchdown. He was charged with one penalty, but the veteran addition has also been credited with a key defensive “stop.”
Although Pro Football Reference has charged Elliott with one catch allowed for eight yards — as Kenyon noted — PFF has not charged him with a single reception so far. Per PFF, opposing quarterbacks have a 0.0 passer rating when targeting Elliott, with no catches allowed despite five targets. They also tallied one pass breakup for the Steelers DB.
Elliott has been on the field for 94 of Pittsburgh’s 117 defensive snaps over Week 1 and Week 2 combined. Per PFF, he’s mostly split his time lining up as a slot corner (41 snaps), stacking the box as a strong safety (25 snaps) and playing deeper as a free safety (22 snaps). But Elliott has also lined up outside the tackle along the defensive line six times as either a blitzer or extra help on run defense.
DeShon Elliott Says 2024 Steelers Are ‘Definitely’ the Best Defense He’s Ever Played On
In other Elliott news, the safety joined “The Sick Podcast – Steelers Crazy!” on September 17 and made headlines for one response.
“I would say, definitely [this] is the best defense I’ve been on,” Elliott told the podcast. “And I’ve played on some pretty good defenses. There’s a lot of talent on some of those defenses [I’ve played for].”
Elliott first pointed at the Steelers’ front seven to back this claim. Naming T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Cameron Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi, “the big general” Patrick Queen and “young pup” Payton Wilson.
“We are very talented on our side of the ball,” Elliott continued. “It’s more about us continuously playing together, playing physical as the Steelers do, communicating, creating plays and making sure we take away the chunk plays.”
Elliott added that even one or two chunk plays is far too many, showing that this Steelers defense holds itself to a high standard. The newcomer seems to be fitting in just fine early on.
