Steelers Position Battles: Jordan Dangerfield
“Position Battles” is a new feature column which will explore upcoming training camp battles from an individual player perspective. Each article will aim to make a case for, and against, a player making the roster based on the spots available at their position.
Ever since the departure of the legendary Troy Polamalu, the Steelers secondary has been shaky. The safety position underwent a makeover, first with Mike Mitchell replacing Ryan Clark, and then a revolving door of Polamalu replacements trying their hand at replacing the irreplaceable.
Shamarko Thomas was drafted to be Troy’s heir but couldn’t cut the mustard. Will Allen was brought back as veteran help but was a short-term solution who proved to be unviable long-term. Robert Golden, an undrafted safety who excels at special teams, was also signed to a long-term deal to shore up the position, but too suffered the fate as his predecessors.
Last year’s second-round draft choice Sean Davis appears to be the real deal, but behind him, the depth chart doesn’t look very strong. Golden is still here and poised to be the primary backup to Mitchell and Davis, but aside from him: it’s all Jordan Dangerfield.
And that’s the subject of a potential position battle during training camp. Dangerfield, like Golden, is another undrafted safety on the Steelers roster. Unlike Golden, Dangerfield has battled to get his position, fighting for a spot on the practice squad through the rigors of getting released and re-signed.
Dangerfield got his first start last season when Davis opened the year playing slot corner and the starter next to Mitchell (Golden) went down with an injury. He earned excellent praise from Pro Football Focus for his spot duty and showed that the Steelers staff, once again, are great evaluators of talent.
Where Dangerfield could slip up is if Pittsburgh were to find another undrafted talent in camp. An emergence of another safety, someone like Jacob Hagen, could be a development who could compete with Jordan for his roster spot. Former Tennessee Titan safety Daimion Stafford was recently signed this week to shore up a position the team didn’t address in the draft. He will provide a veteran presence who could compete with Dangerfield.
However, the Steelers have been known to carry 4-5 safeties on the final 53-man roster; which should be more than plenty to accommodate Dangerfield. Stafford appears to be in the same mold as Golden; a special teams standout who was his unit’s captain in Tennessee. There’s also speculation that William Gay could move to the safety position, but even then, Dangerfield’s spot should be fairly secure, unless the team gambles with rostering less at the position in favor of carrying more at another. (Cornerback and wide receiver are two spots where the team has a plethora of talent, for example.) The question will be if the team needs two Robert Goldens (Golden and Stafford) or if they feel they know who Dangerfield is, and what his ceiling could be.
Regardless, it appears that the safeties will be more of a competition than an actual battle, for playing time supremacy.
